Secrets
by jadoreamour
Summary: What will Carla do when one moment changes her life how she knew it forever?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone :-)

I'm new to so I will apologize now for punctuation and spelling mistakes that are in this fic. I've had this idea rattling around in my head for a while no so I've decided to put pen to paper. Or fingers to keys. Anyway, for this to work I think I'm going to need to point a few things out that differ in this fic to the show so it makes sense (if anyone reads it that is). The main thing that is different is that Frank is Peter's cousin, Frank is with Michelle and Frank has just bought 40% of Underworld so now owns it with Carla.  
>I think that was everything, so I will try to get the first chapter uploaded shortly (it took me about three hours to work out how to post this so I'm not sure how quick it will be lol). I hope you like the sound of it. :-) <p>

X 


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again everyone :-) apologies this took me longer to upload than I thought. I figured out how to do it and got distracted, and then I decided to change some of the details of the story so I had to edit and re-write some of this chapter. I also need to point out something else that I didn't mention in my little note and that is that Peter did leave Leanne for Carla, but Simon is Leanne's child and so he is living with her, but Peter does visit him. I think that was everything I needed to point out, I'm not sure how good (or bad) this fiction is going to be, it's my first so it's a bit of a trial. The last thing is a huge thank-you to technicolouredninja and lastrequest for taking the time to leave me comments. :-) PS, please be aware before you read on that this chapter has fairly strong references to rape.**

Part One.

_Such a lot had changed over the past few months for Peter Barlow and although things were hard for him he wouldn't have changed a thing. He had just stepped out of the shower and after securing a towel around his waist he had walked through the living area of the flat into what was probably his favourite room that it he__ld. Peter had just left his wife for someone else and he knew almost everyone that he knew disapproved of it, but he didn't care, he had stayed with her for too long for the sake of their son and he knew it had gotten to the point where it had stopped being beneficial to any of them involved. He had left his wife, Leanne, for Carla Connor, someone who he now knew was the love of his life and it saddened him to remember how long he had denied that for. __  
><em>_  
>However, as Peter entered the bedroom to find Carla having now made her way into the middle of the large bed they shared, he smiled. A smile that was genuine and one that was not forced like so many had been before her. They had by no means had an easy time of it, but, in moments like this he knew it was all worthwhile. They had been sharing the flat with Carla's sister-in-law Michelle which hadn't been ideal for any of them, but they had made it work. Carla having made it quite plain to Peter that she would never throw her out and he couldn't blame her. But now even that situation had changed, a few months previously Peter's cousin, Frank had moved to just outside of Weatherfield where they lived and on finding out he was in a similar business to Carla, he had bought into the factory which had been struggling for a month or so, and on doing so he embarked on a relationship with Michelle who was now living with him. <em>

_Peter ran his hand over Carla's raven locks gently and it caused her to stir in bed, mumbling something incoherent, her voice groggy from sleep. __  
><em>_  
>"What was that Mrs Connor?"<em>_  
>Carla nuzzled into the pillow as she yawned before whispering to Peter. "what time is it?"<em>_  
>"Half seven."<em>_  
>Carla groaned "and you have showered already?"<em>_  
><em>_"Can you not tell? I've used that special shower gel."__  
>Carla laughed quietly as she fondly remembered the memory that he had subtly referred to with that comment, however, after a few seconds her expression fell more serious and she sighed quietly before whispering. "I don't want you to go..."<em>_  
>"I know love but I've promised Simon and I think we really need this trip away. Just the two of us, I'm hoping that it's going to make things a bit easier."<em>_  
>"I know I know I'm just being selfish."<em>_  
>"You're not, I understand. If I was you I'd miss me as well."<em>_  
>"Well one thing I won't miss is your massive ego."<em>_  
>Peter grinned and Carla found herself smiling back at him in spite of herself.<em>_  
>"Have you got time for a cuddle?" Carla whispered, shuffling a little closer to Peter who nodded. "With you? Always."<em>_  
><em>_  
>Carla smiled as Peter moved so that his arms were wrapped around her, her head was rested against his chest and they were cuddled close. Carla understood fully his need to spend some one on one time with his son, though she knew it wouldn't make her miss him any less and with knowing this she had arranged to go out for a few drinks with Michelle the following night in the hope of making the time pass a little more quickly. Carla moved slightly so that she could catch Peter's lips with her own in a tender kiss, and when she felt him press his lips a little harder against her own, she moved her hand to let it rest on the back of his neck. Peter rolled her over onto her back and as he laid over her she felt his hand move higher on her thigh and up under her nighty. <em>_  
><em>_  
>After making love, Carla lay in bed with Peter, savouring what little time they had left together before he had to finish off getting ready for the weekend trip away he was taking Simon on. <em>_  
><em>_  
>-<em>_  
><em>_  
>Carla had reluctantly said goodbye to Peter before making her way into work where she had been rushed off her feet all day. She had been left to cope on her own by Frank and had gone through a meeting, managed to secure another order with the client before helping to pack up an order that had needed to be out that day. The one day that she needed an extra pair of hands was the one day Frank had decided to go AWOL and she was not happy about it. Carla had stopped off on the way home and got herself a bottle of wine, and on getting back to the flat she had ran herself a bath and was currently laid in the warm water trying to relax. She let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips as she remembered that morning with Peter and got the familiar butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought back to them together. In a way it was still very surreal for her, it had only been mere <em>_months before they'd__ had had to hide their relationship and now they could walk down the street hand in hand and kiss in public without having to worry about being caught out. It was a good feeling __and__ one that she had gotten used to very quickly.__  
><em>_  
>Carla reached out for the glass of wine she had <em>_on the side of the bath and had__ a sip before __putting it back down, frowning when she heard her buzzer sound through the flat, indicating that someone was at the main entrance of the apartment block she lived in waiting to be let up to her flat. Why was it that she couldn't have a moment to herself? It was seconds before Carla silently decided that she would ignore it, whoever it was could wait, __and if__ it was that important then surely they could call her or something. She settled back down into the warm water in her bath and let it cover her body when the buzzer sounded twice more and she frowned, maybe she was just supposed to be stressed that day. The only thought occurring to her at that moment in time was that she should have bought another bottle of wine. A quiet sigh passed her lips and she stood up, getting out of the bath before wrapping a fluffy white towel around her tanned, slender frame. She hurried out of the bathroom on hearing her phone ring and wondered if something was wrong. It was Frank. It occurred to her that something could be wrong with Michelle and she answered the phone quickly, the anger she felt towards him for his absence at the factory earlier that day was momentarily forgotten.__  
><em>_  
>"<em>_Frank__? What's wrong? Is Michelle alright?"__  
>"<em>_Yeah__, why wouldn't she be?"__  
>Carla shook her head, forgetting that she was on th<em>_e phone and that the gesture would be__ completely lost on him. There was a moment's pause as the information registered before she spoke again, her tone snappy. "__What__ do you want then?"__  
>"I'm at your flat, where are you? I wanted to speak to you."<em>_  
>"<em>_You're__ speaking to me now."__  
>"<em>_Are you in?"__  
>"Not for you no."<em>_  
>"O<em>_h __come on, don't be like that."__  
>"Like what?"<em>_  
>"A<em>_wkward. I want to explain..."__  
>"<em>_What__ like it wasn't awkward when you didn't turn up for work today when I was rushed off me__ feet?" Carla shot back "__why you decided to take the day off when you knew we were going to be busy, like I had to explain why you didn't show your sorry ass for that meeting we were supposed to ha__ve with Rory this afternoon."__  
>"Oh yeah, how did that go?"<em>_  
>"Y<em>_ou have __some cheek do you know that?"__  
>"O<em>_h come on Carla just let me in, I have a perfectly good reason why I wasn't there I just don't really want to tell you while I'm stood on the doorstep."__  
>"You'll have to give me 10 minutes." On finishing her sentence Carla ended the call and put her phone on the kitchen counter before walking through into her's and Peter's bedroom.<em>_  
><em>_  
>Carla walked out of the bedroom a few moments later, and after tying her dressing gown at the side she walked over to the small white phone that was by the door and pressed the button so that the main doors would open, before opening the flat door so that Frank could enter on arriving. She refilled her glass and raised her head a little as he stepped through the door and closed it.<em>_  
><em>_  
>"<em>_Do__ you want a glass?"__  
><em>_Frank nodded "thanks."__  
>Carla poured a second glass and handed it to him before she picked up her own and walked across the room to sit down on the sofa, with Frank soon joining her. Once he had sat down she wasted no time in getting to the point. "<em>_So__ what was the excuse then?"__  
>"<em>_You__ say that like you don't think I've got one."__  
>"I don't."<em>_  
>"I phoned an old contact and I was setting up a meeting with him, but it was harder than I thought and it took longer than I thought it would. Then when I was on my way into work Michelle come home..." he sighed "and to cut a long story short we had a huge row, I was already late and I would have been no use to you today, believe me."<em>_  
>Carla paused for a moment and had some of her wine before speaking <em>_up in answer to what he had said, finding herself worried about one of her closest friends__. "__What__ did you argue about?"__  
>Frank frowned "is that your business?"<em>_  
>"<em>_You__ don't have to tell me, I'm just asking."__  
>"I'd rather not talk about it."<em>_  
>Carla nodded once "fair enough..."<em>_  
>There was a moment of silence and Carla began to feel uncomfortable, but her train of tho<em>_ught was broken as Frank spoke up again__. "Where's Peter? I wanted to know if he fancied coming to the pub for a __while.__"__  
>Carla frowned "he's away... You know he's away, on a trip with Simon?"<em>_  
>"<em>_Oh__ sorry, I completely forgot... My head's a mess today... I..."__  
>Carla interrupted, sitting forwards a little. "Frank you can talk to me you know, I know you haven't known me that long but I like to think I know 'Chelle... Maybe I could help?"<em>_  
>Frank sat forwards himself and when he raised his head it made Carla realize just how close they w<em>_ere and before she knew it he was__ moving in for a kiss. She sat back quickly before getting up off the sofa, shaking her head __as__ she did so. "What are you playing at? I am with your cousin, you, are with my sister. You think you can come around here and try to __put__ it on me, some kind of family you are."__  
>Frank got up himself and scoffed, his hands clenching into fists at his sides and on noticing this was when Carla first felt the change of the atmosphere in the flat. She felt vulnerable, alone and the complete loneliness of a woman who was at the hands of someone else and could do nothing about it. "You were all over me. You instigated that Carla, do not try and make a mug of <em>_Me__." he snapped.__  
>"<em>_Get out." Carla swallowed hard, finding her throat now very dry__ and tried to keep up the mask portraying her keeping her cool when inside it was far from how she felt. She walked to the door but just before she could open it she felt it slam closed and a vice like grip on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and before she knew it she had been slammed against the door for the flat. Her breath hitched in her throat and she lost all control of her senses, it was that moment of being caught off guard that Frank chose to throw her onto the floor. She landed awkwardly on her arm and immediately k__new the inevitable, she squirmed,__ fought and pushed against him but it seemed as she was losing strength, he was gaining it and there was nothing she could d__o to move him. His knee was__ between her legs and sh__e was crying then, really crying,__ while begging and pleading with him to stop before it all went too far. She __could feel his hands on her body, touching her in places that only Peter should have, tugging at her clothes. She knew that he wanted to make her feel like nothing and he had succeeded.__  
><em>_  
>-<em>_  
><em>_  
>Carla lay against the cold floor of her flat, her clothes ripped and her skin covered in bruises. She tried to hold what was left o<em>_f her clothes to herself though__ it was pointless, she pulled her knees to her chest and flinched as Frank walked past her, utterly terrified that he was going to do something else. She could smell him and she knew that it was a smell that would never leave her nostrils. Her stomach churned and she sat up slightly before throwing up, and her doing so caused Frank to turn around and raise his eyebrow a little as he spoke. "__You're__ not regretting this already are you?" he laughed. "Imagine what Michelle would say if she found out about this? Or Peter... Peter thinks he's found the girl of his dreams only to find out that she's nothing but a cheap little tart... He's a bit funny is Peter, always was even as a kid." Frank did his belt up which caused Carla to wretch once m__ore and he continued his sentence, an underlying tone of menace in his voice__. "__He'd__ never think of you in the same way if he was to find out I can tell you that. He used to have this toy, a __favourite__ toy, took it everywhere with him and one day it got broken." he shrugged. "__His__ dad tried to fix it but he wasn't interested in it after that. Know what I mean?" he sneered and Carla was almost sure that she had felt her heart break inside her chest. "__It__ was your__ fault, you started this." Were his last words before he__ exited the flat and left Carla in a broke mess on the floor.__  
><em>_  
>As he walked out of the flat and down the stairs at a rather fast pace Frank ran his hand over his hair an<em>_d pulled at the back of his neck__ slightly. He was glad when he had reached his car and there didn't seem to be anyone around, he highly doubted that Carla would say anything but he was ready if she did. There would only be one person that would come ou__t on top and it wouldn't be her__, as he had just proven. Frank sat in his car and when he found that his phone which he had left in the passenger side of the car was flashing he sighed and knew he needed to go and find Michelle. What he hadn't told Carla was that the reason a row between him and Michelle had started was due to her having a miscarriage, something which they had both taken very badly. He had felt as __though__ everything had been taken away from him that night and he had passed that feeling over to someone else in the worst way imaginable and he didn't feel even close to as bad as he should. As far as he was concerned Carla had got what she deserved after trying to make a mug of him, putting it on a plate and then knocking him back.__  
><em>_  
>Carla hadn't moved from the spot in the living room, the feeling of humiliation washing over her as she heard the door slam. He had taken every shred of decency she had left and she knew neither feeling would leave her for the rest of her life. The sound of the landline of the flat ringing caused her to jump and her heart to race so fast she could hear it ringing in her ears. She turned in the direction of the phone and broke into sobs as she heard Peter's voice fill the flat.<em>_  
><em>_  
>"<em>_Hey__ baby, it's me. I'm guessing you've gone to bed and that's why you're not answering the __phone. This is just a quick call to let you know that I'm missing__ you like crazy and I can't wait__ to get back. Simon's having fun, we went to a football match this afternoon and I took him for dinner. I think the next weekend away will have to be a romantic trip for two. Anyway I will try and call you tomorrow, I love you. Sweet dreams..."_


	3. Chapter 3

**I can't thank the people enough who wrote a comment about this story, I really appreciate it. :-) I wasn't sure what people would think as it's just my first fiction but they were all really nice. I didn't know this was possible but I got e-mails to say my story had been added to people's favourites? So thanks to everyone has done that too. :-) This chapter took me longer than I thought cos I changed it quite a lot. Hope you all enjoy it and please leave a comment if you have time.**

Part Two.

Six months later, Carla was sitting on the white sofa that she had found herself on more than one occasion over the past few years, though this time the beauty of the place was lost on her. The past six months had been the hardest of her life and there had been so much put upon her, she had kept the biggest and darkest secret she guessed she ever would and it had been eating away at her from the inside out. On top of that, her Mother had died and that had also been something she had struggled to deal with. A few days previously she had called upon the one person that he been there for her through some of the darkest times of her life and was now sitting beside Suzie in the luxurious apartment she owned in LA.

After placing two fruit cocktails onto the table in front of her and her friend, Suzie sat beside Carla with a quiet sigh and tried to hide the worry she felt. When Carla had called her she had immediately thought that something was wrong and suggested that she fly out for a few days. When Carla had arrived in LA, Suzie knew that her feeling of something being wrong with her had been spot on. As she sat next to her, a woman that had always been so strong and so together seemed very different, broken maybe. Suzie couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that was wrong with her friend but she intended to find out, and vowed to help her as much as she could on doing so.

Suzie, similarly to Carla, was very glamorous and she liked the finer things in life. She had married a Liverpudlian guy who she had met at college not long after leaving school and they had moved to America shortly after for his work. Initially Suzie hadn't wanted to go, but now thinking back she was glad she had taken the plunge and ended up where she had. She'd made a lot of friends while being in LA, but the one person she had remained in contact with from the UK other than her family was Carla, and she often found herself missing her. When she had moved, Suzie had always told Carla she could fly over whenever she wanted and was glad she had taken her up on the offer on more than one occasion, regardless of the situation that Carla had been in herself on visiting.

Suzie ran her hand over her light brown curls, hesitating for a moment as she put a reassuring hand on Carla's arm. Carla jumped, it was something she found herself doing often when she got touched without warning and it didn't go missed by Suzie. There was a moment of quiet as Suzie wondered how to approach the conversation that she felt she needed to have with Carla and before speaking she leaned forward, picking up one of the glasses that held the drinks she had not long made. Suzie handed it to Carla and picked up her own, before having a sip of the brightly coloured liquid.

"Carla, talk to me darling..."  
>On hearing the voice of her friend, the worry that was in her tone, and she felt the familiar feeling of tears threatening to fall, a feeling that had been all too familiar over the past few months. Carla shook her head gently as one large tear slipped down her cheek and lingered on her bottom lip. "I can't..." she whispered.<br>"You can tell me anything, you know that."  
>"I don't want to be here anymore."<br>Suzie laughed a nervous laugh as she hoped she had interpreted Carla's statement wrong. "Oh charming. You've only just got here."  
>Carla shook her head once and Suzie moved a little closer to her. "Carla please I'm really worried about you. I thought you were really happy with that new fella of yours?"<br>"I don't know where to start." Carla whispered.  
>"We've got all night darling, it's only half seven. Just start from the beginning."<br>Carla ran her tongue over her top set of teeth and swallowed hard, almost as though she was trying to swallow any doubt she had about speaking about what had happened.  
>"I was happy with him. I love him to bits..."<br>"I don't understand then? If you love him, he loves you..." Suzie leaned forward to rest her hand on the neat bump Carla had showing through the top she was wearing as she continued. "You've got a little one on the way. What's so wrong?"  
>Carla bit down on the inside of her mouth a moment and shook her head "the baby... It's not, I mean, I don't know..." she shook her head once more to indicate that she couldn't even bare finishing the sentence, and when she heard Suzie next speak she knew she wouldn't have to.<br>"It's not his?" Suzie whispered her voice only just loud enough to be heard over the quiet hum of the TV that was on.  
>"I don't know..."<br>"Oh..."  
>"It wasn't like what you think though. I'd never cheat on him... I..." Carla stuttered and Suzie immediately felt sick, little things all falling into place as she realized what Carla was saying to her.<br>"Please tell me you're not telling me what I think you're telling me..." she whispered, desperately hoping she had somehow misunderstood and that her best friend had not been through one of the most horrific experiences a woman could go through at the hands of someone else.  
>Carla broke into sobs and it said all that Suzie needed to hear, she wrapped her arm around Carla's shoulders protectively and pulled her into a cuddle. Carla accepted the comfort as Suzie ran her hand over her back soothingly and let her cry, her sobs so hard that they made her whole body shake.<p>

-

It was around twenty minutes later that Carla's sobs subsided and she sat up slightly, running the back of her hand over her cheeks to try and remove the traces of her tears. She turned to Suzie and sighed quietly before whispering an apology, Suzie hating how she sounded so small. "I'm sorry."  
>"You've got nothing to be sorry for, not a thing."<br>"I'll buy you a new top."  
>Suzie didn't respond in the usual way she would have which would have likely started some teasing between herself and her friend, instead she asked the question that had first popped into her mind when Carla had told her what was wrong. "Who did it?"<br>Carla swallowed hard as she felt the feeling of nausea wash over her. "Frank..."  
>"As in your business partner Frank?"<br>"As in Peter's cousin..."  
>"Carla does anyone else know?"<br>She shook her head "just you..."  
>"You've got to tell him..."<br>"If I tell him he'll finish with me, he won't believe me. Frank's with our Michelle, do you know how much trouble it would cause? If I was going to tell anyone I'd have needed to have done it when it happened. Now I'm just going to have to keep it a secret and make sure no one else finds out."  
>"What about the baby?"<br>"I'm trying not to think about it."  
>"Do you want it?"<br>"If it's Peter's..."  
>"Why didn't you get rid of it when you found out?"<br>Carla sighed quietly and shook her head. "My mum died... It was a few weeks after..." Carla paused, not ready to finish that sentence. "I blamed how I was feeling on that and by the time I went to the doctor it was too late. I thought I'd missed a period with stress and I don't think I wanted to believe it. Peter was there when I found out so even if it had been an option I could never have done it."  
>"What was Peter like when you told him?"<br>"Over the moon, quite literally jumping for joy."  
>"then that's all that matters, isn't it?"<br>"Is it?"  
>"Carla, that baby in there is your baby and Peter's baby. Nothing to do with <em>him<em>. He isn't going to be telling anyone otherwise, he's already taken so much Car, don't let him take your happiness with Peter and the joy of having this baby too."  
>"That's easier said than done."<br>"I know it is. I know... Just try, yeah?"  
>Carla gave a tiny smile and nodded, she knew what Suzie was telling her was right; she was just struggling to get her head around it. She had gotten away with being so withdrawn for so long with Peter after she had blamed her Mother's death. Carla hated that she had used that as an excuse to try and make her own life that little easier, but knew if she hadn't she would have had to tell Peter what was really wrong and as far as she was concerned that wasn't an option. However, Carla knew she needed to pull herself together on this trip away for when she got back so that she didn't raise anymore suspicion, every time she thought about telling Peter what had happened, Frank's words would ring in her ears before she even got close to weighing up what might or might not be the consequence of her doing so. Carla's thoughts were interrupted as Suzie spoke again "how about I go run you a bath?"<br>Carla nodded "thank you... I don't know what I'd do without you."  
>"I think you'd manage Carla."<br>"I'm not sure I would..." Carla whispered, but Suzie had already walked into the bathroom.

-

Twenty minutes later and Suzie had ran Carla a bath with plenty of bubbles in it, she had put her drink on the side in case she wanted some while she was in there and played some music quietly for her. She knew that she couldn't make her feel better about what had happened, so instead she settled for trying to help her forget about the complications in her life while she was there. "Car, your bath's ready..."  
>Carla got up and walked tentatively through into the bathroom, a small and grateful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Thank you..."<br>"You're welcome love, there's a towel on the side."  
>Carla nodded and Suzie turned and left the bathroom.<p>

Carla undressed and stepped into the bath, lying down with a quiet sigh as she let the warmth of the water envelop her. She bit down on her bottom lip after getting comfortable and could feel tired muscles relax. She was fairly sure that knowing Frank was thousands of miles away and that she didn't have to worry about what he would do next was helping her to relax, even if what was going on in her life wouldn't leave her mind completely. It was moments before Carla's head rolled to one side against the bath and she began falling into a slumber through sheer exhaustion, she was both physically and emotionally drained.

_-Flashback-__  
><em>_  
>Carla had been feeling ill for around three months and she had been blaming it in different things that had happened in her life, but, after becoming increasingly worried about his girlfriend, Peter had made an appointment with the doctor for Carla. She'd had some tests done and they were at that moment in time just sitting in the doctor's surgery, waiting to be called back in for the results of them. Peter moved his hand to place over Carla's who's were in her lap, she was fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket nervously and he frowned in confusion, something had changed about her and he had no idea what it was.<em>

_"Carla, you don't have to worry you know."  
>"I don't know why you brought me here; you know why I feel so bad."<br>"It's been a long time."  
>"My mum has just died."<br>"You weren't right before that, there was something up."  
>Carla swallowed hard "a sickness bug, yeah. You know it was going around."<br>"But let's just try to be on the safe side yeah? I just want them to be able to help you and get you better."  
>Carla sighed quietly and nodded. "I know I know, sorry, I just-"<br>She was cut off by Peter speaking. "You don't have to be sorry."  
>Carla wanted to cry when he wrapped his arms around her protectively for a cuddle and in that moment she never wanted to leave them again, the only place she felt remotely safe now was in his arms. Even in her own home she would be terrified at every creak in the flat or every noise outside it, that Frank was going to appear from nowhere and attack her again.<em>

_When the doctor stepped out of his room and called her name she gave a small nod in acknowledgement, finding herself sitting in the room opposite him with Peter a moment later.  
>"Mrs Connor, I know you're here for the results to the tests that we did on you, and I can tell you there's nothing to worry about. We knew why you're feeling how you are with sickness and being run down. You're pregnant." he smiled.<br>Carla swallowed hard at the words, she could almost feel her world come crashing down around her and the guilt that she felt as she heard Peter speak wasn't something she could describe. "she's pregnant? A...are you sure?" she could almost hear the smile in his voice and it made her feel sick.  
>The doctor nodded "yes, we're sure. Three months pregnant. Before you leave today we'll arrange a scan for you. Now, I know you've had a hard time of it lately, but I don't want to put you on any medication unless we really have to."<br>Carla nodded, she could hear what she was being told but it was almost like she couldn't process it in her mind, like she didn't understand what was being said to her. The news had well and truly floored her._

_The rest of the appointment with the doctor went in a blur for Carla. A blur of news and Peter sounding like the happiest man walking the planet. She hated what was happening and she hated herself even more for not being able to share his happiness. Carla had known from the start that keeping what had happened to her a secret would be incredibly difficult, but now she knew it would be almost impossible._

_-_

_An hour later, Carla found herself standing at the bar of The Rovers beside Peter, the sickness feeling she had in the pit of her stomach had never even eased, let alone left her and she knew it wasn't morning sickness that was the cause of it. The smile had never left Peter and she silently wondered how his cheeks weren't aching, it was like her's couldn't smile about it and it didn't surprise her. She was doing just enough to stop him from asking questions and blaming being shocked at the news had come in very convenient for her. Carla was distracted from her thoughts as Peter spoke and she turned her head in his direction.  
>"it doesn't seem right getting an orange juice when we're celebrating."<br>Before Carla could answer, Tina walked over to them with a bright smile and when she spoke it was evident she'd heard. "oohh, what are you celebrating?"  
>Peter turned to Carla to make sure it was fine with her that he was going to tell her and Carla nodded. People would find out soon enough anyway wouldn't they?<br>"We went to the doctors today and we found out that Carla's pregnant."  
>Tina smiled "oh congratulations. Both of you."<br>Carla gave a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement.  
>"Well I can understand you not being able to drink now, so how about I put the orange in the champagne glasses, it's the best I can do?"<br>Peter laughed "thanks love."  
>Leanne, who had heard the conversation walked out from the back where she had been standing and scoffed. "Like she has the first clue about being a parent." she snapped.<br>"Don't start Leanne." Peter shot back.  
>Carla wrapped her arm around Peter's waist and shook her head a little. "Leave it Peter..."<br>"I'll bring your drinks over." Tina offered with a smile and Peter placed his hand against the small of Carla's back as they walked over to sit down in one of the empty booths in the pub. On sitting down, Peter wrapped his arm around Carla's shoulders and kissed the side of her head.  
>"You've made me the happiest man alive."<br>Carla gave a small smile and when Peter leaned forward slightly for a kiss, Carla responded before turning to wrap her arms around him for a cuddle. "I love you so much, you know that don't you?"  
>Peter smiled and nodded at what she had said "and you know the feeling is mutual."<br>Carla nodded and for the first time in a long time she let a small and genuine smile tug at the corners if her lips as Peter kissed her forehead._

_However the smile was wiped from her expression as she heard a voice that made her blood run cold. "Get these two Chelle, they're having a moment."  
>Michelle laughed and Carla shuffled closer to Peter. "oh stop it and go get us some drinks."<br>"We've got ours."  
>Carla turned as Tina walked over and placed the glasses of orange down in front of them. "Thank you."<br>Tina smiled as Carla spoke and then left to go back to the bar and finished her shift. Carla crossed one leg over the other and her stomach churned as she heard Frank speak. "Not drinking Carla?"  
>"No she's not." Peter smiled and she could only wonder how different the situation would have been if Peter knew what was really going through her mind. She might not have had to deal with Frank but she was almost sure that Peter would not have been sitting next to her and she was terrified of taking the chance of losing him. "We're having a baby." Peter added with a grin that told everyone he was ecstatic about the news.<br>Michelle leaned over the table and placed her hand on Carla's with a smile, squealing in excitement. "Are you serious?" she got up and walked around the table to cuddle Carla, a cuddle which she returned. "I'm so happy for you. Congratulations. Have you been for a scan yet? How far gone are you?" Michelle asked, displaying the excitement that Carla knew she should have been.  
>"Thank you... No not yet, we've got an appointment though and I'm about three months, they can't be sure until the scan."<em>

_Frank had just shook Peter's had but his mind was working overtime and he knew that there was a large possibility that the baby was his. He felt very smug that he had something else over Carla and knew that he could bring her while world down around her if he chose to. "Well I think this calls for a celebration. I'll get us a proper drink; we'll drink enough for the both of you."  
>Peter laughed "go ahead mate."<br>"I'm just going to the toilet." Carla gave Peter's hand a gentle squeeze before getting up from the table.  
>"Is everything alright?" Peter questioned, causing Carla to almost melt at the concern in his voice and shout at him that everything wasn't alright, that everything was anything but alright. But, instead she settled for a nod and a forced smile before turning on her heel as she walked in the direction of the toilets.<em>

_Carla stepped into one of the cubicles on getting into the toilets and wretched, though was glad when she wasn't sick. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down, which admittedly, was easier said than done. She pushed her hair back with her hand gently, stepping out of the cubicle and over to a mirror a few moments later. As she stood opposite the mirror she realized how pale her complexion was and knew she needed to try and improve it. Carla leaned forwards and splashed her face with water before patting her skin dry gently with a few paper towels. She needed to make sure that the secret she was keeping __remained one and to do that she knew she needed to try and go on as normally as she could. With this in mind, she took her lip-gloss from her bag and applied some before stepping out of the bathroom to return back to the bar when Frank walked through the doors and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to one side. "I think me and you need to talk."__  
>Carla pulled her arm away roughly "no, we don't."<em>_  
>Frank stepped closer and Carla took a step back, almost tripping in her haste to get away from him. She turned when the door opened once more and she forced a small smile as Michelle stepped through the door and frowned on finding Frank outside the toilets with Carla. "what are you doing?" she questioned.<em>_  
>"Just congratulating Carla"<em>_  
>"Outside the toilets?"<em>_  
>"Yeah she was coming out as I was going in."<em>_  
>"Alright" Michelle laughed before going on through into the toilet and Carla walked out into the bar and back to Peter before Frank had a chance to say or do anything else.<em>

-

Carla woke herself up with a start and felt her heart beating inside her chest so fast that it almost physically hurt her. She swallowed hard and leaned back a little as she tried desperately to stop tears. She had cried so many times and had told herself that she wouldn't shed anymore tears for Frank again but found it more difficult as time passed to stick to that. It was a few moments later before she sat up to wash her hair, hoping that the simple activity could distract her from her thoughts, even if it was only for a few moments.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all so much for the comments on the last chapter of this. They really do help with writing :-) this took a little longer than I thought, it didn't seem to go right no matter what I did but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I felt mean that some of you have commented on this and I've not commented on your stories so I tried to do that before posting this for some of you. :-) Anyway here's the next bit, I hope you enjoy. As always, please leave comments if you have the time.**

Part Three.

The following morning, Carla woke up and in her groggy state she instinctively reached out to Peter, but found the other side of the bed empty. She sighed quietly and let a small smile tug at the corners of her lips as she picked her phone up from the small table that stood at the side of the bed, finding a text from Peter to let her know he was missing her. She was missing him, more than she might have liked to admit, but one thing that she didn't miss was being in Weatherfield and around the man that had put her through the most horrific experience of her life. Carla wasn't sure when or if she would get over what had happened to her, and in around three months she would have a permanent reminder of that fateful night and the one thing that she was terrified of more than anything else, was, growing to hate the baby due to what Frank had done.

Carla sighed quietly and turned to the side as the door opened, offering a small smile to a beaming Suzie who walked through the door with a large tray of food. Carla sat up a little and took the coffee and the orange juice from the tray, putting them on the side so that she didn't spill them while sitting down on the bed beside her.  
>"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat all of that..."<br>"It's not an option; some of it's for me." Suzie laughed and nudged Carla in a manner that let her know she was joking and when Carla gasped quietly and placed her hand to her stomach, Suzie raised her eyebrow a little. "Is it kicking?"  
>Carla nodded.<br>"It knows I'm here, that's why."  
>Carla smirked "must be trying to tell me to get rid of you."<br>"Er, I'll have you know that baby Connor and it's Auntie Suzie will be the best of friends."  
>"Barlow."<br>Suzie frowned and shook her head to indicate her confusion. "What?"  
>"Baby Barlow"<br>Suzie smile and nodded at Carla who took her hand and placed it against her stomach as she felt the baby kick once more.  
>"It's going to be a footballer."<br>"You sound like Peter..."  
>"Decided it's a boy has he? Or is there something that you're not telling me?"<br>"We don't know, we've decided to leave it as a surprise."  
>"You decided on any names yet?"<br>"That argument is on-going."  
>Suzie laughed and nodded at her "yeah I bet."<br>Carla smiled and for a few moments she almost forgot what was going on, talking about the baby and Peter to her best friend would have been perfect, if it wasn't for the extra bit of knowledge that she had.

Half an hour later when Suzie and Carla had eaten the majority of the food on the tray that was on Carla's lap, Carla frowned when Suzie spoke.  
>"you've got about an hour to get ready."<br>"what do you mean? Where are we going?"  
>"the spa."<br>"why?"  
>Suzie shrugged "I don't know I just thought that it might be nice for us now come on."<br>Carla chuckled at her friends bossiness which was much like her own and nodded "alright, let me get showered."

Carla had found herself showering more and more often since Frank had attacked her, it was something that she tried to keep as subtle as possible, but deep down had noticed herself doing it. It was like she was trying to wash him away and wash away what he had done. Of course she knew it was impossible but it seemed that it wasn't enough of a reason to stop washing all of the time. Sometimes she would shower twice a day, and had done it three times on one occasion, but when Peter had asked her about it, the shock of being put on the spot by him had made her conscious of not doing it while he was around.

As Carla stepped under the water of Suzie's shower she sighed quietly and ran her hand over her swollen stomach. It was almost instinct for her to do so and that action in itself spoke volumes to Carla, when she had found herself doing it before her holiday she had had Frank's words ringing in her ears, or she would find herself back at that night and almost having a panic attack just thinking about it. But this time was different, things were by no means sorted, but as well as Frank's words ringing in her ears when she thought about her baby, she now had Suzie's words too.

_"That baby in there is your baby and Peter's baby. Nothing to do with him."_

She tried to concentrate on them and in that moment vowed to do whatever she could to make sure the baby she was carrying didn't have a childhood like her own. To make sure that it was well cared for and wanted for nothing and most of all to know that it had a Mother who would do anything for it.

-

Peter had been working in the Bookies all morning and had decided to go to the pub for a drink for his lunch. He couldn't deny that he was missing Carla had had been texting her regularly throw out her trip. He almost laughed out at himself and knew that he'd turned into one of those people who he'd said on more than one occasion made him feel sick. He had never thought he would feel about someone the way he felt about Carla, before their relationship had started he'd thought that being with Leanne was love, but on finding Carla he found out that it was something very different altogether. He had loved Leanne, but he wasn't _in_ love with her.

Upon reaching the bar in his local, Peter ordered himself an orange juice and sighed as Leanne entered the pub, although she was living in the flat above the bookies he knew she visited frequently and had stayed over on more than one occasion. Peter was handing the money over to Tina who had placed the glass of orange on the bar as Leanne spoke to him, and he knew as she did that it was for Simon's sake and nothing else.  
>"Simon needs picking up and hour later, he's got football tonight."<br>"I thought that was last night?"  
>"It's been changed. I think you need to get your priorities in order Peter."<br>"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter snapped agitated at her tone and what she was insinuating.  
>"It means that you're so wrapped up in your own life you don't even know what's going on in your son's." Leanne snapped.<br>"Oh don't exaggerate Leanne; it's only changed this week."  
>"It changed two weeks ago."<br>"Well two weeks ago then, I don't usually have him on a Thursday. I know how many goals he scored and whether he's enjoying it or not so don't stand there and try to make out that I have no interest in him."  
>"He needs picking up at half four." Leanne answered rather bitterly before she walked away and Peter sighed, shaking his head a little as he moved over to sit down at one of the free tables in the pub.<p>

Peter had only been sitting on his own for a few moments when he was joined by his cousin; he smiled in acknowledgement as Frank sat down and placed his bottle of beer on the table.  
>"Alright mate?" Frank questioned before having some of the drink in front of him.<br>"Rushed off my feet at the Bookies, it would seem the world has gone gambling mad at the moment."  
>Frank laughed "so business is well then?"<br>Peter nodded "for now. I just hope things stay that way; I'm not sure what we're going to do when the baby comes yet though, I can't just close the place for the first few weeks. I might have to think about employing someone else." Peter thought aloud and sighed quietly as he thought about having to go through writing up job applications and interviewing people. Maybe he could ask Carla to help him? "How are things at the factory?"  
>"Yeah, things are good ta. I've got a meeting this afternoon with another client, I don't really want to go if I'm honest but it got me out of shopping with Michelle."<br>Peter laughed "the silver lining."  
>Frank laughed along with him and nodded "yeah you could say that. She intends making the most of her afternoon off by the sound of it."<br>Peter raised his eyebrows a little before both of them had a mouthful of their drinks, Frank speaking before Peter did.  
>"Listen mate and feel free to say no, but when you said there about not being sure what to do about the bookies when the baby arrives… I might be able to help you with that."<br>"Are you going to run it for me?" Peter joked.  
>"Why not?" Frank answered, causing Peter to frown when he realized that Frank wasn't joking, that his tone was serious.<br>"What?"  
>"I was thinking about talking to you about it at some point this week but they say there's no time like the present."<br>"I don't know mate."  
>"Why not? It would help you when Carla has the baby, you would be able to take as much time off as you needed to sort things out and you wouldn't have to worry about someone who's only just got involved in the business. You know you can trust me."<br>"I don't know, I was just thinking of temporarily employing someone..."  
>"Think of me more as a business partner."<p>

Peter frowned "even if I was to agree, where are you getting the money from?"

"I have some put away and it sounds like a good investment from what you've told me?"

"What kind of shares would you be thinking of?"

Frank shrugged "depends how many you wanted to sell and it'd be a nice chunk of money for you just in time for the baby arriving…"  
>Peter nodded "Yeah it would, listen I do appreciate it. I tell you what I'll to I'll think about it myself and then when Carla gets back I'll talk to her about it."<br>"What do you need to ask her for? It's your business."  
>"It's not just about me though is it? Like I said I'll think about it."<br>Frank nodded "how is Carla anyway?"  
>"I'm sure she's fine, out there in the sun with her friend." he laughed "there's not really much choice between Weatherfield and LA, is there?"<br>"I suppose not, it's just she didn't seem herself before she went."  
>"She's had a lot going on that's all."<br>"If you're sure."  
>"If you have something to say Frank then say it."<br>Frank shook his head with a shrug "I don't."  
>Peter nodded and finished off his orange before getting up to go to the toilet. As he did Frank smirked, knowing that Peter would be thinking about his offer and that when Carla was told she would be less than pleased about it.<p>

Frank had only been sitting at the table for a moment when Peter's phone, which he had left there beeped to indicate that he had a text, after checking that he wasn't on his way back over to the table he picked up the phone and opened the message. It was from Carla.

"Hey baby. I hope you're not working too hard; did you manage to get Simon for the night? I've just been treated to a morning in the spa which was lovely and Suzie has bought loads for the baby. Try to give me a call if you can, I miss you. Love you x x x"

Frank stayed cool on the outside but he was furious on the inside and after deleting the message, he put Peter's phone back on the table so that he would have no idea that it had been touched. He didn't feel even slightly bad for what he had done to Carla, as far as he was concerned she'd asked for it by making a mug of him and had taken on the wrong person.

Frank had always been jealous of Peter, though he would never admit that. Frank had been spoilt all of his life and he hated that Peter had things he didn't. When he had arrived on the street he had heard about Carla before he'd met her and he had been intrigued and on meeting Carla he knew that if she hadn't been with his cousin he would have tried it on with her. The thing that bugged him was that she was with Peter and it was plain how strongly they both felt for each other. He'd never had that with someone and he was jealous that Peter did.

Initially after attacking Carla, Frank had panicked but on getting home and knowing that if he chose to he could bring Peter's world down around him gave him a sense of power and he liked it. When he'd found out that Carla was pregnant and there was a large chance the baby could be his, he knew it had just added to the power he had. It was something else Peter had that he could take away anytime he chose to.

Although Frank was with Michelle, he knew that it was out of convenience rather than love, it made it less likely that Carla would ever tell Peter what went on, which gave him the sense of power due to knowing that if anyone did it would be him. She was a pretty girl which was always a bonus and she often told him things about Carla, or things about Peter which Carla had told her without thinking twice about it. She was good to have in the office and he knew she loved him. Michelle was one way to make sure he was in Carla's life whether she liked it or not.

Frank silently wondered whether Peter would take him up on his offer of putting money into the Bookies, he knew Carla would try and talk him out of it, but the seed had been planted and he knew that was enough for that moment in time. At worst Peter would just think about the offer and at best it would cause a row between him and Carla.

Peter walked back to the table and sat talking to Frank for a little while longer before both men decided to go back to work, one having no idea what the other was really like.

-

Peter arrived back at the bookies and was glad that he had managed to persuade Leanne into letting Simon stay with him for an extra night that week. He usually stayed with him and Carla on a Sunday and a Monday night and with Leanne for the rest of the week. The arrangements for Simon had been made on her terms after Peter felt that was the least he owed her after deciding to leave her for Carla. Simon hadn't warmed to Carla as much as he'd hoped but he was civil, and for Peter that was a step in the right direction. Sometimes he would make a comment or snap at her and Peter knew it was far from being perfect, but, hoped that in time his son would get used to him being with someone else. The baby he was having with Carla had complicated matters and he'd had a lengthy conversation with Simon to make sure he knew that he would still love him just as much, and let him know how nice it would be for him to have a little brother or sister. Although things were hard for all of them and Peter knew there was a long way to come, he never for one moment wished that Carla had not become pregnant, for him it was the icing on the cake.

He picked up his phone to check if there had been a text from Carla but there was none and he only hoped that was due to her having such a good time. He knew she had struggled over the past six months with her mum dying, and getting pregnant fairly quickly had come as shock to her too. Though he tried to deny it he was sure that there was something else, for a few weeks before she had found she was pregnant she had become incredibly distant and he was sure one morning when she thought that he wasn't there, he came back to the flat and heard her sobbing in the shower. Peter had questioned Carla about it but she had denied crying and blamed having a sickness bug for how she was feeling. He had settled for that being the answer for those few weeks and of course the weeks after he knew why, if anyone had been going through what she had they would have struggled.

Peter was missing Carla a lot and he hoped that when she got home the holiday would have helped her relax and it would allow them to settle back into a routine that they had almost found before Carla had fallen ill. Peter decided to give Carla a quick call before he picked Simon up from football and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips at the thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much to LadyFfion who has left a comment for each chapter that I've wrote, it really does mean a lot. :-) Also, big thanks for the person who added this story to their list; I can't remember your username but it's really nice to know you enjoy it enough to do that. This has taken me longer than I thought it would to post, I sometimes struggle to find time to write it, which is typical when I have another thought for a fanfiction which I'm toying with. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter :-) if you have time please leave a comment, they really are appreciated.**

Part Three.

Three days later and Carla's visit to LA had come to an end, she had made no secret about being reluctant to go back home but Suzie had reassured her once more. Of course Carla had missed Peter like crazy, since they had made their relationship public they'd only spent around two nights apart, so after a week it had seemed like much longer. If Peter had been with her she doubted she would have gone back to Weatherfield, she had been trying so hard to forget about what had gone on in her life over the past few months and now with the knowledge that she was going right back to where it all happened, no amount of trying could move those thoughts from the front of her mind.

Suzie had just stopped outside the airport and had parked the car before getting Carla's case out of the boot for her, after doing so she turned to her friend and sighed.  
>"I'm really going to miss you Car."<br>"Me too. Though I can't say the same for your singing in the shower."  
>"Hey, I should be selling records me."<br>"In your dreams maybe."  
>Suzie laughed and shook her head slightly before she wrapped Carla up in a cuddle, one which was returned without a seconds thought. "I wish I could stay here longer..." she whispered.<br>"You stay here much longer and they won't let you back on the plane until you've had the baby."  
>"So? You could be my partner."<br>"you know I love you Carla but I don't think even I could deal with you in labour."  
>"Oh we'll that's just charming isn't it? You're supposed to be my best mate."<br>Suzie laughed and stepped back from the hug slightly, her tone more serious as she spoke this time. "Listen Car, if you ever need me day or night you just ring me yeah..." Carla nodded and bit down on the inside of her mouth to try and stop the tears that were threatening to fall. "You have to promise me that when you've had the baby you'll come and visit me and bring Peter with you too and I'll let you know if he gets my seal of approval."  
>Carla laughed and Suzie smiled, trying to mask her own sadness at her friend leaving.<br>"I will..." Carla whispered and then pecked her friend on the lips and gave her ones last cuddle before she turned around and headed inside the airport to begin her journey home.

-

It was around half five at night and Peter knew that Carla was due home around half an hour later. He'd closed up the bookies at dinner time that day and gone back to the flat to clean it up, making sure that things were where they should be and that it was nice for her to come back to. He guessed that she would be tired and had ordered a takeaway for them that he had to pick up in 15 minutes rather than leave her to cook something or have to cook something himself. He didn't want to have to do anything once Carla had arrived back, he wanted to make the most of having her back and make sure they could spend some time together.

After leaving to get the takeaway, Peter arrived back and was glad to find that Carla hadn't got back before him, he had been texting her throughout her journey so knew she shouldn't be long. The offer that Frank had made him hadn't been forgotten but he decided to try and talk to Carla about it the following day, he wasn't sure how she'd take it and didn't want to risk an argument on the night she got back. Peter put two plates in the oven to warm before he plated the food up, fish and chips for him and sausage, chips and curry sauce for Carla.

It was just after he had plated up the food that Carla made her way into the flat and she smiled, putting her bag down to one side before making her way over to Peter who walked out from the kitchen counter, wrapping his arms around her.  
>"I've missed you..." she whispered.<br>"I've missed you too darling; did you have a good time?"  
>Carla nodded and stifled a yawn, "yeah it was brilliant. Are we eating now?"<br>Peter nodded "I was thinking we could have this, share a bath and then either put a film on or go to bed?"  
>Carla smiled "sounds perfect."<br>Peter kissed her gently on the lips before he passed over her plate and picked up his own. They both made their way over to the couch and sat down beside each other, picking up the knife and fork to begin eating as they spoke.  
>"You've thought of everything you have." she smiled "I'm so hungry."<br>"I thought you might be. Tuck in..."  
>"I have stuff to show you I got while I was out there too."<br>"Oh?"  
>"For the baby, I text you and told you Suzie had bought stuff."<br>Peter frowned and shook his head "no, you didn't."  
>"I think it was the second day I was out there? I was sure I told you..."<br>"It might have not delivered love; you know what the lines could be like while you were out there."  
>"I suppose so."<br>"Tell me now?" he smiled.  
>"We went to a spa and when we were on our way back there was a lovely baby boutique and we went in. I thought that she was going to just get a dummy or a little outfit or something but she went a bit mad..." Carla laughed, remembering the moment fondly.<br>"She sounds like she has shopping habits like you."  
>Carla raised her eyebrow as she ate a chip "explain?"<br>"When you step into a shop that takes your fancy you go a bit crazy and spend a lot of money."  
>Carla laughed and nudged him playfully "behave."<br>Peter wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head before finishing the food that was on the plate. After doing so he turned to Carla and spoke again.  
>"You finished love?"<br>Carla nodded and sat back slightly as he took her plate and walked through into the kitchen to wash up.

-

Twenty minutes later, Carla was laid against Peter's chest in the bath, his arms were wrapped around her securely and his hands were rested on her stomach gently. Carla felt safe in his embrace and she was trying to make the most of the time she had alone with him after being away for the week. She leaned back slightly so her head was rested gently against Peter's shoulder and on feeling her shift a little Peter smiled and turned to one side to place a delicate kiss on the tip of her nose.  
>"I've really missed you." Peter whispered and Carla moved her arms to place them gently over his before nodding her agreement.<br>"I've really missed you too. I wish you could have come out with me, you know? But I do think you would have struggled to get me back here if you had."  
>"Oh so the only reason you came back was for me, was it?"<br>Carla nodded and turned her head to the side slightly before letting a small smile pass her lips. "Yeah..."  
>"Consider me flattered."<br>Carla laughed quietly and when the baby kicked, Peter moved his hand and smiled. "I think baby Barlow has woken up."  
>"it always does when I'm ready for bed, I'm sure I had an elbow or something in my ribs the other night."<br>"He's probably just starting early on his football skills."  
>"He? This baby might be a girl..."<br>"It might be a boy too."  
>Carla laughed and traced her fingertips up his arm gently as they spoke. "We still haven't decided on a name, and upstairs needs finishing too."<br>"I know baby, I know. I'm going to start doing less at the Bookies so I can get upstairs finished sooner rather than later. As for names, I think we need to discuss."  
>"Or you could just agree with me." Carla teased.<br>"As I'm doing all the hard work for the nursery I think it's only fair I choose."  
>"But I'm the one getting the supplies."<br>"So?"  
>"So technically you wouldn't be able to do the nursery if it wasn't for me."<br>"I think you're argument is irrelevant, as the man in this relationship I think I should decide."  
>Carla smirked "still living in the dark ages are we?"<br>Peter responded by wiping some of the bubbles from the bath onto Carla's nose, making her turn away while laughing slightly.  
>"don't start this Peter, I'm telling you you will regret it."<br>"That sounds like fighting talk to me..."  
>"You're hearing it right."<br>Peter chuckled and wiped the remaining bubbles from Carla's nose before speaking again. "I've got a suggestion for our name dilemma."  
>"oh yeah?"<br>"Yeah, how about I tell you a few boys' names I like and you tell me a few girls names that you like and then go from there?"  
>"Narrow it down you mean?"<br>Peter nodded "yeah... What do you think?"  
>"I think it's a good idea, hit me with your boys' names."<br>"I was thinking Mason, Bailey, Noah or George."  
>"Bailey Barlow." she smiled "that's adorable."<br>Peter nodded in agreement with Carla and kissed the side of her head before he spoke up once again. "What do you think to middle names?"  
>"I think you should choose the middle name."<br>"George."  
>"Bailey-George Barlow."<br>"I think it's perfect." Peter whispered "what girls names have you chosen?"  
>"I like Lexi, Nahla and Neveah."<br>"Lexi is my favorite. How about Lexi-Rose?"  
>Carla smiled and nodded "gorgeous"<br>"like you."  
>"oh you charmer." Carla smiled and turned to kiss Peter gently.<br>"always sweetheart, always."  
>"I think both names are perfect."<br>"so do I, we just need to wait another few months now to find out if we've got a Bailey or a Lexi."  
>"I think those three months will go quicker than either of us would like to admit."<br>"I can't wait to meet him or her."  
>Carla swallowed hard at the comment and nodded, trying not to let the thoughts that complicated her situation creep into her mind. "I know..."<br>"How about we go and get into bed for a cuddle?"  
>Carla nodded and kissed Peter once again before she got out of the bath and reached over to wrap a white fluffy towel around herself. As Carla made her way through the flat and into the bedroom, Peter wrapped a towel around his waist and took the plug out of the bath to let the water drain away before he followed Carla through into their room.<p>

Carla had changed into a nighty and Peter into a pair of boxers before they had curled up in bed together, they had been laid in a comfortable silence for around ten minutes and Peter was running his hand over Carla's hair gently. He hesitated for a second before whispering into the silence, only the dim glow of the lamp at the side of the bed stopping the whole room from being in complete darkness. "Carla can we talk?"

When Carla didn't answer, Peter frowned and then smiled when he found that she had nodded off. He kissed her on the forehead and settled down for the night himself. Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been there when the buzzer to the door sound through the flat, he frowned and wondered who it would be calling at that time but on turning to the side and pressing the button on the top of the alarm clock to light it up he found it was only nine o clock, much earlier to what he had previously thought.

Peter got out of bed, checking that he'd not woken Carla he pulled a t-shirt on before going to the door, answering the phone that was by it.  
>"Hello?"<br>"It's me, buzz me up."  
>"Alright it's open."<br>Peter pressed the small button by the phone and opened the door to the flat to allow Frank in. After doing so, Peter walked over to the kitchen and out the kettle on to do himself a coffee. When Frank stepped through the door he nodded in acknowledgement as he closed it before speaking.  
>"Alright mate?"<br>"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at home with Michelle?"  
>"Oh she's gone for a drink with Maria, she's having some troubles with her boyfriend and I got the feeling I wasn't welcome. So I thought I'd come and find out how you were doing."<br>"Do you want a drink?"  
>"A Whiskey if you've got any?"<br>"Yeah we've got some."  
>Frank made over and sat down on the sofa and it was then he spotted Carla's bag by the floor, and it was that which prompted him to speak. "Carla's back then?"<br>Peter smiled and nodded, taking his coffee over to the sofa as he handed a glass to Frank before sitting opposite him. "Yeah she got back tonight."  
>"Has she gone back out already?"<br>"No, she's in bed."  
>"How are things between you two?"<br>"Yeah good. We're just trying to make sure we have things sorted in time for the baby arriving. We've finally decided on names." he laughed "I've got to finish the nursery too, we're trying to split upstairs so there's still space for Simon and the baby."  
>Frank raised his eyebrows a little before answering "anytime you need a hand mate..."<br>"since when we're you good at DIY."  
>"I could give it a go."<br>"Well you can put your money where your mouth is tomorrow. I think I'm going to need all the help I can get so I don't end up in the dog house."  
>"Just give me a ring and let me know, I don't think there's much to do at the factory so Michelle can manage on her own."<br>"Cheers mate, it's appreciated."  
>"Have you spoken to Carla about my offer?"<br>"Not yet, she's only just got back and she was knackered."  
>"Well the offer is there mate."<br>"I know and the more I think about it the more I think it would be a good idea, I'll try and talk it through with her soon. There's just been so much going on at the moment."  
>"Yeah I know mate. There's no rush..."<p>

-

An hour later and Peter had finished his coffee while talking to Frank, it was then his phone rang and he frowned on picking it up from the table. "It's Leanne." he stated.  
>"What does she want?"<br>Peter shrugged and answered the phone and it was seconds before he nodded and then got up from where he was sitting, quickly saying he would be there before going through into the bedroom to put a pair of jeans and some shoes on. Peter kissed the top of Carla's head before closing the door as he walked back out into the living area of the flat and was met by Frank questioning him as to what was going on. "What's wrong mate? What's going on?"  
>"It's Simon, he's not well and he's asking for me, they need a lift to the doctors. Are you alright letting yourself out?"<br>"Yeah course mate, you go on." 

Peter nodded and turned, grabbing his jacket before heading out of the flat door and down the stairs. As the door closed Frank let a smug smile form over his expression and Carla stirred slightly at the noise. When she reached out in the bed for Peter she frowned when she was only met with an empty space, the bed was cold which indicated he hadn't been beside her for some time and she immediately wondered where he was. Carla sat up slightly and it was seconds after she had that the door opened and casted light across the bed, Carla turned expecting to find Peter entering her room, but she was filled with sheer terror when she turned to find it was Frank. She swallowed hard and could feel her heartbeat ringing in her ears that had speeded up dramatically. Carla was shaking so hard she thought that her bones were rattling inside of her and it seemed to take her an age to gather her emotions together just enough to manage a few words. Although she desperately tried to keep how she felt from Frank, her voice betrayed her and as the words passed her lips they were nothing more than a shaky whisper. "Get out."

"Now now Carla, don't be like that." Frank smirked as he made his way over to the bed and as Carla moved to get out of bed she stopped dead when she felt his hand on her knee. "Stay there."

"If you don't get off of me right now I'm going to scream this place down and Peter will be in here like a shot."

"I don't think he will." Carla swallowed hard and bit down on the inside of her mouth hard to try and stop her tears as Frank continued. "He's gone out, so it's just me and you…"

"Please just leave…" Carla whispered and Frank smirked, she silently wondered where Peter had gone and wished that he would be back soon, though deep down she knew that Frank must know he wouldn't be, or he wouldn't be in the bedroom tormenting her if there was a risk of Peter coming back.

"Are you scared Carla?" Frank raised his eyebrow slightly and Carla decided that an answer to that question wasn't needed; it was plain that she was completely terrified. "You know you should be." Frank let his hand trail higher on Carla's thigh and she moved back slightly in an attempt to get away from him but it was no use, she pulled her legs together tightly and Frank leaned in closer and continued with what he was saying in a whisper, which made it all the worse for Carla, she was almost sure it wouldn't have been as bad if he was shouting at her. "One word from me and I can bring your little world crashing down around you. That's all it would take, so rather than trying to go out of your way to make things difficult for me, I'd be doing everything I could to keep me sweet if I was you…"

Carla was unable to stop a sob from escaping her lips as Frank nipped the inside of her thigh, shaking her head a little as she spoke. "Please… don't…" she pleaded, though his words were ringing in her ears and she was convinced they were true. "The baby…" she whispered.

Frank laughed then, a quiet low laugh that made Carla's blood run cold. "I wondered how long it would take you to use that one. Not long at all…" he shrugged "what do I care, the kid's Peter's."

In that moment Carla knew that if Frank was to attack her again it could potentially put her baby's life at risk and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, in the hope that it would prevent him from doing any more than he already had. "It's yours…"

"What is?"

"You know what."

"Say it."

Carla was quiet for a few moments and it was almost like the words were refusing to come from her mouth. She wished she could just not answer him but she knew that if she did it would be seconds before she may end up in a situation that she couldn't get herself out of, and it was that thought that made her push her feelings to one side. "The baby…"

Frank laughed once again and Carla could smell the Whiskey on his breath which made her want to gag. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for that one?"

"It's true… I've been given the dates."

"Where are they?"

"I was told them… At the hospital…"

"I don't buy it."

"Why would I lie about it?"

Frank raised his eyebrow and Carla shook her head "I'm not lying about it… Now please… Just go…"

Frank could feel Carla trembling underneath him and knew he had done enough to frighten her and knew that she'd given him more power with what she had just told him. With that thought in mind he sat up and nodded "I'll go… On one condition."

Carla didn't want to ask, but she knew she had to to get rid of him, and she desperately wanted rid of him, out of her flat and especially out of her bedroom. "What condition…"

"The minute that kids born you get a DNA test done and prove to me you're not telling lies. You know if I find out you have Carla I'll made sure you wish you hadn't. Do you understand?" Carla nodded and Frank grabbed her chin in a vice like grip. "I said, do you understand?"

"Yeah…" was all Carla managed, though her voice was barely audible.

Frank pushed her back against the bed before getting up to leave the flat. As the front door closed Carla broke down into sobs and curled up into a ball, placing one hand over her stomach while desperately hoping for some kind of miracle to get her out of the situation in which she found herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**I think this is the quickest I have ever updated this fic, I was going to leave it a little longer but those comments you guys left me were so lovely, I thought I would post again today. :-) I really appreciate each one of them and that you take time out to write them. Thank you to more people who have put this story under their alerts thing (still getting used to this as you can probably tell lol). I hope you enjoy this chapter, the characters kind of exist in my mind so I just write what they do lol. Please leave a comment if you can, I really do appreciate it when you do. :-)**

Part Five.

The following morning Carla had got up out of bed at around half six and though she needed to be up early to go into work after her time off, she could have had at least another hour in bed. As she was getting further into her pregnancy the more tired she was becoming so it was very unusual for her to be up before she needed to be. However, after the previous night's events she couldn't settle. Carla had cried herself to the point of exhaustion after Frank had left and had eventually nodded off, when she woke that morning she found that Peter was laid next to her and she wondered where he had been the night before but she decided against waking him, being unsure of what time he had got to bed.

Carla walked through into the kitchen and put the kettle on to try and concentrate on a task rather than let her thoughts take her away into a world of her own. It was always so much harder when she was on her own, she struggled to distract herself and often found herself falling back into memories that she tried desperately to push into a corner of her mind that she never wanted to visit again. Carla put a spoonful of coffee into a cup and added some milk before pouring boiling hot water in from the kettle after it had made a noise to let her know it was boiled. That simple noise caused her to jump in fright and she knew that she was no further forward than she had been six months ago. It seemed that every time she was allowed to think she was making progress, Frank would turn up and cruelly remind her that she wasn't. Carla stirred the drink, all she could think about was her situation and that whichever way it went something bad would happen, she couldn't win, it was a lose lose, catch 22. She wanted the baby to be Peter's and if it was she couldn't deny that she was terrified of what Frank would do. However, if the baby was Frank's she knew it would be impossibly hard for her to cope and give him even more power than what he currently had.

When Carla felt a hand on her shoulder she jumped and knocked the cup that was on the side, spilling the hot coffee. She took a step back and turned quickly to find Peter at her side and she let out a breath of relief. "Carla, what are you doing? You could have scalded yourself." Peter moved her to one side and picked up a cloth, speaking to her as he began to clear up. "Go sit down baby, I'll clean this up and make some more."

Carla swallowed before nodding and made her way over to lay on the sofa, she was tired but she was finding it impossible to settle and making it worse was the knowledge that she couldn't just lay around all day, she had things to do and she couldn't put them off any longer, especially with her just having had time off for a holiday. Peter made his way over to the sofa and wrapped Carla up in a cuddle after laying down himself and it was something she was thankful for. "How come you're up so early?"  
>Carla shrugged "I just woke... Where did you go last night?"<br>"Oh did you wake up then too?"  
>Carla nodded "just for a minute, but you weren't there."<br>"Simon wasn't very well and Leanne rang and said he was asking for me, they needed a lift down to the doctors so I had to go out for a while."  
>"How is he now?"<br>"It's a sickness bug, he was burning up so they've given him some stuff and told him to make sure he gets plenty of rest."  
>Carla nodded "he should be fine in a couple of days then?"<br>Peter nodded "what are you doing today?"  
>"I want to go and get some more things for the baby's nursery and I've got to go into work at some point. What are you doing?"<br>"I'm going to ask my dad to cover the shop so I can get on with sorting out upstairs; all I've done is separate it into two, so I need to get on with it to make sure it's ready. I think Frank's coming over to give me a hand at some point so that should help."  
>Carla ran her tongue over her top set of teeth and swallowed hard; she hesitated for a moment and picked her words carefully before she spoke. "No, he isn't."<br>Peter frowned "what?"  
>"He's not doing anything in here."<br>"Why not? He's just trying to be helpful."  
>"Peter this is our baby, mine and yours, I want this to be about us, no one else."<br>"It is he just offered to help out."  
>"This is nothing to do with him; it's about me and you..."<br>"Alright baby, I'll tell him I don't need any help."  
>Carla nodded and Peter ran his hand over her hair gently and kissed the top of her head before speaking once again. "Can I ask your opinion on something?"<br>"Course..."  
>"Frank offered to buy into the Bookies while you were away and I told him I'd ask you how you felt about it..."<br>Carla sat up a little and shook her head. "No."  
>"I know we haven't talked about it, I hadn't even really thought about it but it could work out. I mean, I could have as much time off as I wanted when the baby was born, get into a routine, I wouldn't have to worry about someone new coming in and being thrown in at the deep end."<br>"Well why can't you ask your dad or Deidre?"  
>"they might be able to for a week or two but not any longer than that and I don't want to have to leave you on your own with the baby that quickly, you get months off and I want to make the most of spending some of that time with you."<br>Carla swallowed hard as she sat up properly and tried quickly to think about how she would talk Peter out of what he was thinking of doing without giving him cause to be suspicious. "Can I think about it?"  
>Peter nodded and ran his hand over Carla's back gently "yeah, take as long as you need. I won't do anything until we've both agreed on something you know that..."<br>"I love you so much Peter, you know that don't you?"  
>Peter smiled and nodded "I know, I love you too, and this little one." he let his hand rest on her stomach and Carla turned to catch his lips with her own in a tender kiss.<p>

-

It was around twelve o clock and after asking Ken to take care of the Bookies that day, Peter had spent that morning sorting out the upstairs of the flat. He had separated it into two and decided that when Simon next visited it might be nice for him to help decorate his room and so at that moment he was concentrating on the baby's side. Carla had bought a tin of white paint and Peter was just finishing off painting the walls with it, with them keeping the baby's sex as a surprise the colours they were going to use in the room were neutral, but from what Carla had got and from what she had told him she was planning he doubted that it would be any less stylish.

Peter was painting when he heard the door go and sighed, he considered ignoring it but he knew it was a possibility that Carla had forgotten her key. He put the paintbrush down and headed down the stairs to the small phone by the door. On answering it to Frank he buzzed him up and opened the door and he didn't have to wait long until he was in the flat.  
>"Oh she's got you busy has she?"<br>"I'm just doing a bit of painting, nothing too heavy. Do you want a drink?"  
>"I'll do them mate and bring them up, seems like you have enough to do."<br>Peter laughed but agreed and then went on up the stairs, and Frank went into the kitchen to make the both of them a drink. As he walked to the stairs to take the drink up to where Peter was he walked past the laptop that was open with a screen browsing expensive engagement rings. He raised his eyebrow a little and it only took him a fraction of a second to work out what Peter was planning. Frank shook his head a little and in that moment he decided that he would put a stop to those plans, Carla and Peter had everything and he didn't want to have to hear them talking about a wedding as well as everything else. He liked the be at the centre of everything and be the one making the grand gestures that people would talk about for weeks on end, so, the thought that it might be his cousin that would be the topic of conversation once again didn't sit well with him in the slightest.

Frank went upstairs with the drinks and put them down on the floor that was covered with sheets to stop any paint spilling onto it. He leaned against a chest of drawers that had been bought for Simon so he could keep some of his things at Carla's and raised his eyebrow a little as he spoke to Peter.  
>"It's bigger up here than I thought."<br>"It's a good job it is or we'd have ended up having to find somewhere else to live."  
>"How's it going then?"<br>"It's not too bad. I've just about finished painting this and we're not doing anything with Simon's until he's here so he can help so, depending on where Carla's been today will depend what I need to do tomorrow." he laughed.  
>"So she's in charge then?"<br>"You could say that."  
>"You're getting on though?"<br>"Yeah. Why wouldn't we be? I think the best thing that ever happened to me was meeting her and having our baby will be right up there with that."  
>Frank suppressed a smirk at Peter's comment and nodded "good"<br>"how about you and Michelle?"  
>"Yeah it's going well mate. I was thinking about going for a drink in the pub tonight if you fancied it? About 5 o clock? Bring Carla and I'll let Michelle know?"<br>"Yeah alright, why not." Peter smiled and continued painting.  
>"Do you need a hand?"<br>On remembering what Carla had said to him, Peter shook his head. "no I'm almost finished mate."  
>Frank had some of his coffee before he spoke up again, a plan forming in his mind as he did so. "so you ready to be a dad for the second time around then?"<br>"Course. I can't wait."  
>"How's things between Carla and Simon?"<br>"Better than they were but not as good as I'd like. I think it's just going to take time."  
>Frank nodded "I'm sure it'll sort itself out."<p>

-

In the factory Carla was sitting in the office at her desk and after typing up a spread sheet she'd sat back in her chair and sighed. She might have got one thing done but she couldn't get out of her mind what Peter had told her that morning and the suggestion that Frank was to buy into the Bookies made her stomach churn. She hated that he was in her life at all but he was a member of Peter's family whether she liked it or not and she highly doubted that he would be leaving Underworld soon. Although she didn't like to admit it she knew that she couldn't do anything about either of those facts, but she had decided the moment she had been told about Frank's offer that she would do something to stop it from happening. As far as Carla was concerned there was one reason and one reason only why Frank had offered to buy into the Bookies and it was control. He was obsessed by it and she knew that if he got that if peter agreed to the offer that it would be impossible to get rid of him.

Carla moved her legs so that they were resting on her desk as she toyed with her phone, she wasn't sure whether what she was thinking of would work, but she knew that she needed to try. Frank had taken so much from her already and she wanted to do whatever she could to stop him from doing anymore. Though the Bookies wasn't her's she knew that it meant a lot to Peter and therefore it meant a lot to her too. It was with that thought in mind that she slid her phone up and dialled a number that she knew off by heart but that she hadn't used in a long time. Carla bit down on her bottom lip and took in a breath as she brought the phone up to her ear as it rang. After the fourth ring it was picked up, which prompted her to speak into the receiver. 

"It's me. I need a favour, can we meet?"

-

It was just after five and after locking up the factory, Carla had reluctantly agreed to go to the pub. Peter had just got the both of them a drink and sat down beside her in one of the booth. Carla picked up the glass to have a sip of the orange juice that it held as Peter spoke.  
>"How are you feeling?"<br>"I'm tired; we're not staying here long are we?"  
>Peter shook his head "no, just for a couple."<br>Carla gave a small smile and nodded, resting her hand on top of his as he placed it on her stomach. "How did today go?"  
>"I got the nursery painted; I'm leaving Simon's room until Sunday for when he comes around. How was your day?"<br>"I just did a bit of work, I didn't get chance to go into town but I ordered some things off the Internet which should come tomorrow if you could get your dad to mind the shop again?"  
>Peter nodded "Yeah, I'll call him, what did you order?"<br>"A chest of drawers for the clothes, the cot, a chair for whoever's up there and some more clothes."  
>Peter smiled "you've been busy then."<br>Carla laughed quietly and nodded, though she had to stop a grimace by having a drink of her orange juice when Frank entered the pub with Michelle and after getting a drink they joined their table. Carla put the glass back down on the table after swallowing the liquid and shifted slightly closer to Peter in a subtle manner as Frank spoke, feeling slightly better when she felt Peter's arm around her shoulders. 

Frank was the first to speak when he and Michelle sat down; the little plan that he'd had forming earlier than day being put into action. "There was a reason I asked you all to come here tonight and it wasn't just for a drink. I've been thinking of doing this for a while and I'm hoping that it all goes to plan..." Both Carla and Peter were frowning slightly and Carla had a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach as to what Frank was going to do next and when he spoke again she knew that the feeling had been spot on. "I know we haven't been together that long Michelle, but I can say that I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you and I don't want to be with anyone else." Frank moved so that he was knelt down on one knee and in that moment Carla wanted to scream at Michelle what he had done to stop her making what she knew would be a mistake. However, she knew that she couldn't and had to swallow the lump in her throat. "Will you marry me?" Michelle instantly agreed and threw her arms around Frank as they were congratulated by the pub. Carla leaned over to give Michelle a cuddle and offer her congratulations as Peter shook Frank's hand. Carla sat back down to avoid getting too close to Frank though offered forced congratulations as they were in the company of others. He responded by smirking which said to Carla a thousand things that he didn't need to before he turned to get a bottle of champagne from behind the bar for them to celebrate, the last thing that Carla felt like doing, especially in Frank's company.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you once again to the people that commented on the last chapter, they really are appreciated. This one has taken a bit longer as I've been getting other ideas and things. :-) I hope you all enjoy it, as always, comment please if you have time.**

Part Six.

A week later, Carla had just got up and was stood in the kitchen making both her and Peter a coffee when he walked up behind her and kissed her gently on the back of the neck. Carla leaned into him with a gentle sigh as Peter rested his hands against her stomach underneath her top. "Morning baby."  
>"Is that to me or baby baby?"<br>Peter shrugged, laughing quietly "both?"  
>"I think we're going to have to find a new pet name for each other."<br>"Agreed." Peter leaned over and picked up one of the cups before taking Carla's hand as they walked over to sit down on the couch. "What is your plan for today?"  
>"I've got to go into work for a while and then I might pop into town for some stuff for the nursery so we can find out how much we've got and what else we need. What are you doing?"<br>"I've promised Simon I'll take him into town to get some things for his room. Why don't you come with us?"  
>Carla hesitated for a moment before answering, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure what time I'm going, why don't you take Simon and have some bonding time and if I think you're still there I'll text you or something to meet you?"<br>"Yeah alright love. Are you finishing work early today, Frank mentioned something about it."  
>"I think I'm going to finish at lunch regardless, I need to do some stuff and there's no meeting's booked for today."<br>"Is Michelle excited about the party?"  
>"She can't wait. She says she's nervous about meeting Frank's parents and nervous about him meeting her's." she sighed quietly before adding "she has a good right to worry about that though."<br>"What do you mean?"  
>"Have you ever met Michelle's parents?"<br>Peter shook his head "no"  
>"well I think after tonight you will know what I mean."<br>"How do you feel about them coming over?"  
>"Strange..."<br>"Don't worry about it... Here, I tell you what is strange, that they aren't going to meet each other's parents until the engagement party."  
>"Yeah I suppose that is a bit weird..." Carla hesitated for a second, silently weighing up whether she should say what she was contemplating, before in the end doing so. "I don't want to go."<br>Peter frowned "why?"  
>"I am fat for one thing, I'm really tired and I would much rather curl up on the sofa and have a night in with you."<br>Peter smiled "you're not fat Carla, you're pregnant, and I'd prefer to spend the night in with you but I think we have to go, even if it's just for a little while."  
>"Right so we need a code."<br>"How old are you?"  
>"Old enough to know that you can get carried away and forget that your girlfriend, your very pregnant girlfriend can quickly get tired or bored and I think we both know who wears the trousers in this relationship..."<br>Peter nodded "I think I wear them very well."  
>Carla smirked and hit him in the arm playfully "don't start that argument Barlow, I am warning you now you will lose."<br>"Oh if you say so, Connor."  
>Carla laughed quietly and Peter wrapped his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "So this code..."<br>"Is that if I take my bracelet off, it means that I want to get out ASAP, deal?"  
>Peter nodded "deal"<br>Carla licked her hand and Peter did the same before they gave each other a high five, both laughed before sharing a kiss and spent the next hour curled up on the couch in a cuddle while drinking coffee.

-

Carla had showered and changed into a pair of black leggings with a pair of her flat boots and a sloppy cream jumper with a black vest underneath. She had tied her hair into a ponytail and put some make-up on before heading out if the flat and to the factory. On getting there she walked over to Hayley and was glad to find that afraid wasn't there.  
>"Hayley, can I have a word?"<br>"Yeah of course." she stepped through into the office behind Carla and let the door close as she waited for Carla to let her know what she wanted.  
>"There are no meetings for today are there?"<br>"No, the next one is for next week. All that we need to do today is finish an order but I think we're almost there."  
>Carla nodded, "right, if anyone asks will you tell them that I'm out and if anyone calls just take a message and leave it on my desk."<br>Hayley nodded "are you alright Mrs Connor?"  
>Carla nodded "yeah I just have a few things that I need to do." she smiled "thanks Hayles" she added, before turning on her heel, heading out of the factory and into her car.<p>

-

Carla drove for around twenty minutes to get to a small coffee shop that she had used on more than one occasion, and where she had arranged to meet the one person she hoped would be able to help her out of the potential situation where Frank would buy into the Bookies. Her heart beat faster the closer she got to the shop and though she might be able to deny it out loud she knew that she couldn't deny the butterflies that were in her stomach to herself, that seemed to be getting stronger as each moment passed. She was unsure if why she was so nervous but she put it down to wondering what the conversation might consist of and whether she would get the help that she so desperately needed.

After parking the car, Carla walked over to the small shop and swallowed hard before taking in a breath, stepping through the door after doing so. Carla let the door close beside her and it didn't take her long to realize the person she had come to meet was standing by the counter, and from what she could make out flirting with a blonde waitress. The saying that some things would never change seemed very true at that moment in time.

He hadn't changed too much and Carla took it as a comfort, his hair was still that raven black colour the same as her own though it was longer now, and it was styled in a messy yet stylish way. He was two inches taller than her, not that she could tell with the distance between them but it was something she knew from memory. Carla could tell that he was still working out, his physique was what most men would work a lifetime for, but after spending the majority of his time in a prison gym he had gotten it quicker than most. His face was chizzled and handsome, he had slight stubble there and he had a bad boy type swagger about him which had gotten him many female admirers.

Carla made her way over to the counter and she could hear him before getting there, she was sure his voice was deeper and she smirked at his words, he still had the charm that was for sure. Carla stood at the counter beside the man that she had been so close to as a child, but who she had drifted apart from as their lives took very different paths. Carla placed her hand on the counter before speaking, not thinking twice about interrupting the conversation.

"I'll have a cappuccino please, he's paying." she gestured to the man she had stood next to with a nod of her head and the girl behind the counter sighed before turning around and walking off to get the drink Carla had ordered.

On hearing her voice the dark headed male let a small smirk pass his lips and turned to the side before answering, noting that she still wasn't fully acknowledging his presence. "you ask me here for a favour and I'm paying for the drinks." he raised his eyebrow slightly "typical of you that, Car..." he added with a smile.  
>"Big brothers are supposed to take care of their sisters, so get your wallet out."<br>"Oh I have missed your bossiness." he shot back in a sarcastic manner.  
>"Well, you can't have missed bossiness in general, can you? What with you having been inside for the best part of ten years."<br>As the blonde headed back, Darren spoke again "why don't you go find us a table? I'll bring the drinks over."  
>Carla gave a sarcastic smile, letting him know that she knew he was trying to get rid of her to improve his chances with what she deemed as a rather average girl behind the counter. She walked over to sit down at a table by the window and leaned back against the chair while waiting for Darren to join her.<p>

As far as Carla was concerned Darren had been taken away from her when he shouldn't have been, of course she knew that what he had done was wrong and that by no means should he have. But, with their lives as they were in the place that they were living she guessed that he hadn't had much of a chance. He had got in with the wrong crowd and had been stupid but he had never been given a chance to lead a life of anything other than crime and things that would get him into trouble and the knowledge of that made her sad.

Carla sighed quietly and pushed her fringe back gently with her hand as Darren made his way back over to the table. He placed the cappuccino she had ordered down in front of her and a coffee down for himself before sitting down opposite Carla. Carla raised the cup to her lips to have a sip of the drink and after doing the same himself, Darren took it upon himself to speak first. "Who'd have thought it, my little sis with a bellyful..."  
>"Not many. I never was thought of as Mother material."<br>"Who's the fella?"  
>"No one you know. How are things for you anyway?"<br>Darren shrugged "as good as they can be for an ex con I think."  
>"So not that good then..."<br>"What was the favour you wanted?"  
>Carla decided against questioning Darren about his not so subtle change of subject of the conversation and answered his question. "It's a big ask..."<br>"Well we're here, you might as well just ask."  
>"Have you got a job?"<br>"I'm meeting you here at half twelve on a weekday, what do you think?"  
>"A simple yes or no would have done." She had a little more of her drink before speaking up once more "I might be able to help you out with that for a while."<br>"How?"  
>"My boyfriend owns a Bookies, and he needs someone to run the place after I've had the baby so he can have some time off. He was going to ask his parents but they could probably only cover for around a few weeks and then he would have to go back to work and he wants longer off. We need someone there we can trust, so..."<br>Before Carla spoke again, Darren interrupted and spoke up himself. "So you thought of me? You need someone you trust and you thought of your jailbird brother."  
>Carla sighed "you're still my brother Darren..."<br>"Alright..."  
>Carla raised her eyebrow, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips "alright?"<br>"Alright I'll do it. You just let me know when you need me and I'll be there."  
>Carla smiled and nodded, biting down on the inside of her mouth for a moment "thank you..."<br>Darren had some more of his coffee and though he didn't say it he was really glad that he seemed to be making progress with Carla and he hoped that by helping her out it would be the first step to them building up a relationship again. "So I'm going to be an uncle?"  
>Carla nodded "in just over two months, yeah..."<br>"Are you excited?"  
>"Yeah, I'm getting more and more nervous the closer it gets though."<br>"Well you know if you need anything you've just got to pick up the phone..."  
>"I think I've already asked enough."<br>Carla had a little more of her drink and Darren shifted in his chair slightly. "How long have you got?"  
>"Not as long as I'd like, I've got to go into town and I've got to go to an engagement party tonight."<br>"Who's?"  
>"Paul and Liam's sister, Michelle..."<br>"Oh yeah, who's she marrying?"  
>Carla bit back a remark she knew she would regret. "My boyfriend's cousin, Frank."<br>Darren gave a subtle gesture to the waitress he had earlier been flirting with "I think she might think we're together..."  
>Carla raised her eyebrow a little "she can't possibly think that."<br>"Why?"  
>"My taste in men might not be of the highest standard Darren, but it's not that bad." she smirked and he gave a sarcastic laugh. "Oh hilarious."<br>Carla out her jacket on and got up from where she was sitting, she placed her bag over her shoulder and stepped over to where Darren was as he got up too.  
>"Text me and let me know what's going on..."<br>Carla nodded "I will..."  
>Darren then wrapped his arms around her and she returned the cuddle before offering a small smile as she walked out of the cafe and back to her car. Carla was apprehensive about letting Darren back into her life and she guessed that it was due to what Frank had done. She hated herself for feeling like she did, he was her brother and she was second guessing whether she had done the right thing in getting back in touch with him.<p>

Carla got back into her car and drove back the way she had come to go back into town, she hoped that she had made the right decision in asking Darren to help and she hoped that by doing so it would out a stop to Frank's plans of buying into Peter's business. As she was driving into down, Carla frowned as her phone buzzed against the passenger seat in the car to indicate that she had a message. When she stopped at some traffic lights, Carla smiled as she opened it, it was from Darren and it read:

_"I meant what I said, if you ever need anything just text me. I've missed you."_

Carla knew that Darren was by no means known for showing his feelings, he was labelled cold, a little like her, so the text meant even more to her. Though her life had seemed to get worse after Frank had been brought into it, she guessed that getting back in touch with Darren was her silver lining.

-

When Carla arrived back from town she had decided against saying anything to Peter about where she had been or what she had done that morning. They had to go to Frank and Michelle's engagement party and she knew that was more than enough for them to have to deal with for one night. After getting a shower, Carla had changed into a pair of black leggings with a white tunic style dress that flowed over her neat bump and stopped halfway down her thighs. She then curled her hair loosely and moved to sit down to do her make-up when Peter walked through into their bedroom with a towel around his waist after getting out of the shower himself. Carla spoke to him while he began getting dressed "how did your shopping trip with Simon go today?"  
>"It went well; I think we've got everything we need for his bedroom."<br>"So all you need to do now is to decorate it all."  
>Peter nodded "I just need to paint his room and then sort out the furniture."<br>"You have a busy day tomorrow then..."  
>"It would seem that way. Have you got plans?"<br>Carla shook her head "not really, I might stay in and help you."  
>They shared a smile through the mirror before Carla finished her make-up and Peter did his hair.<p>

After doing her make-up, Carla slipped into a pair of black shoes that came to just above her ankle and had a considerable heel. After spraying some perfume Carla turned around and called out to Peter who was in the bedroom. "Are you ready?"  
>"Yeah." was all Carla got in reply and it was a few moments before he walked out of the bedroom and into the living area of the flat in a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt. He was met by a wolf whistle from Carla. "Very handsome." Peter laughed "you don't scrub up too badly yourself love..."<br>"Oh you have such a way with words."  
>Peter laughed once again as he put his black coat on "come on."<br>Carla put her own coat on before she left the flat with Peter and after locking it they walked over to the Bistro that Frank and Michelle had booked out for their party. Carla swallowed hard and held Peter's hand a little tighter as they stepped into the building, it having been changed a little too how it was on a normal day. The chairs and tables had been moved so there was a dance floor, Nick having been told to make sure it was how Michelle wanted and she had made it plain that having a space to dance was top of her list. The music was fairly quiet as they stepped inside, though it was loud enough to hear over the chatter of the people that were already there, it seeming that Carla and Peter were two of the last to arrive.

The girls who worked in the factory were sat with Sean, and Nick, Eva and Cheryl were making sure things were running smoothly. Carla noted that Norris was sitting with Emily, Rita and Mary, quite the ladies' man was her thought and at it she had to stop herself from chuckling. Carla offered a small smile as she was greeted by Hayley who was going back to the table with the factory girls after getting more drinks and she offered a small smile as Maria and Kirk made their way inside. Carla noted that the majority of people on the Street were there and she guessed it was due to the free bar, she wondered how many people would be there if it wasn't and more importantly who would still be if they knew what Frank was really like.

The table in the middle was the biggest one and sat at it were Michelle and Frank, beside was Michelle was her dad and beside him was Helen. Ken and Deidre were also sitting at the table and who she guessed were Frank's parents were just taking their seats. Carla noted there were two seats remaining which she guessed were for them and she sighed quietly, wishing they could have sat somewhere else and at least tried to make the night even slightly bearable. Just as Carla was thinking about sitting somewhere else she heard Frank speak in their direction.  
>"Carla, Peter..." he smiled and Carla hated the smugness that was behind it. As they reached the table, Frank passed an orange juice to Carla which she reluctantly took and though she tried to avoid it, his fingers brushed hers as she took the glass. Carla had to bite down on the inside of her lip and had to consciously stop herself from flinching at the contact, the slightest touch enough to make her stomach churn and the nausea she felt <em>that<em> night come flooding back with a vengeance. Frank passed a glass to Peter who thanked him before making his way to the two seats that were left at the table. Peter's had fell to the small of Carla's back as she stepped in front of him to greet Michelle with a kiss on the cheek.

Carla was introduced to Frank's parents by Michelle and after she had been she turned to Helen and Barry to greet them as Peter engaged in conversation with his aunt and uncle. Carla gave a small nod of acknowledgement and as she had expected it was Barry who spoke to her first.  
>"Carla" he smiled, "how are you?"<br>Carla leaned over to kiss him on the cheek and nodded before speaking "tired most of the time." she smiled and he laughed.  
>"Congratulations love."<br>Carla smiled "thank you." she then turned to Helen and offered a small smile, unsure of how she would react with her, given that the last time they had spoken, Helen had told Carla that she hated her. "How are you?" Carla questioned, though it was directed to them both.  
>"As good as we can be with two of our sons no longer here." Helen snapped bitterly.<br>"Don't mum..." Was Michelle's reply as she heard what her Mother had said and Carla sat back slightly, deciding against trying to make any more conversation. Carla fiddled with her bracelet unconsciously and when Peter noticed he gave her a gentle nudge which caused her to frown. After a moment Carla realized what he was silently saying and she smiled as his hand found her own, lacing their fingers.

Carla turned to the side slightly as Deidre spoke to her, things weren't perfect between them but she was thankful that things were civil. "How's the nursery coming on love? Peter mentioned something about working on it last time he was around."  
>"It's alright. It took a while to separate it into two rooms but they're painted now, so it's just a case of setting things up and finding out what we've got and what we need."<br>"Well if you need a hand with anything let us know."  
>"Thank you." Carla nodded, the offer unexpected but appreciated nonetheless.<p>

A couple of hours later the place was more lively and louder that it had been with people having had more to drink. Carla wondered if the night would have been more bearable if she'd have been able to have a glass of wine, though she knew she wouldn't have stopped at one, the way she was feeling she would have probably struggled to stop after one bottle. Frank playing the life and soul of the party was making her sick, but she could do nothing apart from sit and listen to it. Peter got up to go to the toilet and Carla finished what little orange juice she had left in her glass before getting up from where she was sitting after excusing herself from the table. She walked towards the bar but was stopped in her tracks when she felt Frank's hand on her arm. Carla moved back quickly almost as though his touch had burnt her "get off of me."  
>"Calm down, you don't want people getting suspicious now do you?"<br>"You what?"  
>"Well you are carrying my baby, by anyone's standards that's pretty big." he smirked and Carla had to bite back a reply as Peter walked over in their direction. "Alright mate?" was Peter's comment and Carla wanted to shout at him that Frank wasn't his friend that he was anything but his friend. As she felt Peter's hand on the small of her back she tried to get rid of her thought, she knew the trouble her revelation would cause would be unimaginable and though Frank was using that to his advantage, she was terrified of what the consequences might be if she was to tell Peter the truth about his cousin. "Do you mind if I whisk her off for a dance?"<br>Frank shook his head "I might take a leaf out of your book myself."  
>Peter laughed a little and then turned to Carla as Frank walked back over to where Michelle was talking to Helen and Anne. Carla turned around as Peter took her hand and led her over to the dance floor with a smile playing on his lips. She turned around in his arms so that they were chest to chest and let her arms drape around his neck, standing as close as she could due to her growing bump. They swayed gently for a few moments before Peter whispered into her ear "I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you."<br>Carla ran her hand over his hair gently "I love you so much."  
>Peter smiled and nodded in agreement at her statement before they shared a tender kiss.<p>

Unbeknown to them, Frank had made his way over to the dance floor with Michelle and though he was slow dancing with her, he was taking more notice of what Carla and Peter were doing. It might not have been the case, but that didn't stop Frank from thinking whenever Carla and Peter were together around him that it was a personal insult to him, like she was rubbing his nose in it. Although he would never admit it to himself, since he had attacked her he had become more and more obsessed with her. He still wanted her, even after everything that had happened. It was like he craved her. Frank couldn't deny that he was jealous when he was around Peter and Carla, she was head over heels for him and it was plain. She tasted so sweet and the knowledge of how she was struggling with what had happened gave him an overwhelming sense of power, the knowledge that he could wreck two people's lives with a few choice words and break one of the strongest people he had ever met all added to the thrill of what he was doing and secretly got him going. Frank wanted Carla Connor again and he had every intention of making sure he had her, whether she consented or not.

**A/N; I know we don't know too much about Darren yet, or even whether he is older or younger, so for this fiction**** I've just done what suited me. :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much to all of you who left comments for me or favourited this story. :-) I think this has taken me longer to update than previous chapters, so I hope you are still interested. Comments are appreciated if you have time to leave one, so yeah, I hope you enjoy. :-)**

Part Seven.

Two weeks later and Carla and Peter were standing in the nursery that they had just finished decorating for their baby. The room was white and the cot was in the right hand corner of the room, it was a tatty teddy one and it had blankets in it to match. There was a white chest of drawers filled with all sorts of clothes that Carla had bought and she had bought a tatty teddy to sit on the top of them. By the cot was a cushioned rocking chair and although Carla had initially thought that she was getting old before her time in buying it, she knew that both her and Peter might be glad of somewhere comfortable to sit when they are knackered and they have a screaming baby to deal with.

Beside the chest of drawers was the Moses basket that Carla had bought, she had planned to have the baby's name in either pink or blue on the wall depending on what she had. Carla smiled when Peter walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her shoulder once. "You have good taste I've got to say."  
>"Well I'm with you aren't I..."<br>"So you have good taste in partners and interior design then."  
>Carla laughed "I'm not sure everyone would agree with that."<br>Peter shrugged "who cares about everyone else?"  
>Carla laughed quietly "I suppose you're right yeah... How did Simon like his room, I meant to get back but I had to re-arrange a deal for today. If we get this I'm hoping it will be the boost that we need."<br>"He loved it, thanks for helping with it; I know he's not giving you the easiest time of it lately."  
>"He just needs time Peter..."<br>"He's had enough time, he needs to get used to it. I think she's in his ear when he's at home and if I find out she is..."  
>Carla held his chin and made him turn to her "hey, you won't do anything. You go storming in there and that just tells him I'm behind it. He just needs a bit more time that's all, and he's better than he was. At least he eats the food I make now, rather than flinging it at me."<br>"Did he?"  
>Carla laughed "no, but he wanted to. Besides, he's as good as gold compared to some of the things I did. So, I'm not really one to talk."<br>Peter took Carla's hand and led her over to the chair, sitting down before he pulled her down gently into his lap. Peter wrapped his arms around Carla as he spoke up once again "tell me more."  
>"Do you really want to know?" she raised an eyebrow a little.<br>Peter nodded.

-  
><em>In a scruffy, run down council house, a raven headed girl of 12 was sitting at the top of the stairs as she heard her mum, a loud brass and drug dealer, shout at her new bloke to make sure he went to pay the gas. The new bloke was a drunk and Carla would have been surprised if he could manage to remember his own name in the stupor that he was in, let <em>_alone manage to pay the gas bill. It was with this thought that she smirked. Ever since he had arrived he had been horrible to her and her brother, her brother often went out but she was stuck in while he stumbled around the house and treated the place as his own. He was leeching off her mum and she had wanted rid of him for a long time, she knew that her mum was getting sick of him, and as Carla moved from the landing into her bedroom, she decided that today might just be her day to get what she wanted. __  
><em>_  
>As the door slammed Carla checked out of the window that her mum had left the house and smiled on finding she had. After pulling her hair back she headed downstairs and smirked when the found the money was still on the table that her mum had left Dave the drunk, as she and Darren had named him. Carla checked the living room and on noticing that he was almost passed out, she took the money and slipped outside and got a few of the empty cans to put down with the others that were strewn across the living room floor. Although her mum did two different kinds of work, both illegal, they always seemed strapped for cash and even though £20 to some people was nothing, to them it was quite the opposite. After slipping the note into her pocket, she smirked and knew that when her mum got back to find the money gone and the extra cans there she would immediately put two and two together.<em>_  
><em>_  
>A few hours later, Carla had been napping when she woke to the sound of something smashing, she sat up slightly and it was then she heard the shouting coming from downstairs. Carla got out of bed quietly and tip-toed across the landing to the stairs, listening to what was being said. "you didn't pay it Dave; I've checked." was the shout Carla heard first.<em>_  
>"There was no money; I can't pay with thin air."<em>_  
>"There was money that I left on the table."<em>_  
>"I am telling you there was none there, Jackie."<em>_  
>As Carla's mum stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room she folded her arms over her chest as she turned back to Dave and prodded him in the chest and shouted once again. "You've spent it on booze again haven't you?" she screeched and Carla sighed, knowing that if her mum found out what she had done she would break every one of her fingers. She jumped when the door opened and Darren stepped through it, she hesitated for a moment before getting up, dashing across the landing as he took the stairs two at a time and grabbed her jumper within seconds. She struggled with him as he nudged her into her room and closed the door.<em>_  
>"What's going on?"<em>_  
>"They're fighting..."<em>_  
>"I think I managed to work that one out for myself, Car. I'm going to need a little bit more detail..."<em>_  
>"...Dave hasn't paid the gas."<em>_  
>"Right?"<em>_  
>Carla nodded.<em>_  
>"But that's not all, is it? There's something that you're not telling me..."<em>_  
>"She left him money but it disappeared…" Carla smirked and Darren raised his eyebrows before laughing. "You?"<em>_  
>She nodded and he wrapped his arm around her as she spoke "I never liked him, and that'll teach him for selling my bike."<em>_  
>"Get your coat, we're going out."<em>_  
>"Where? Where are we going?"<em>_  
>"Anywhere you want? The arcades?"<em>_  
>Carla smiled and nodded before heading out of the house with Darren, glad in the knowledge that by the time they got back her mum's latest fella should be gone for good.<em>

Peter laughed as Carla finished telling him one of the stories from her childhood and ran his fingers over her back gently as he answered. "You were a sneaky little beggar; at least we'll know where the baby gets it from if that crops up. Only two months now..." Carla nodded, but fell quiet and it caused Peter to frown "are you alright love?"  
>Carla hesitated for a moment before whispering "I'm scared..."<br>"What of?"  
>"The birth, being a mum, what if I can't do it?"<br>Peter sat up a little and ran his thumbs over her cheeks gently, "Carla I think you will be the best mum this baby could wish for..."  
>Carla swallowed hard and tried desperately not to let unfallen tears escape, there was so much more she needed to tell him that she couldn't, she felt like it was going to choke her. It was a few moments before she managed to speak up with an answer "you will be there won't you?"<br>"I'll be with you every step of the way. This is normal you know, I think all women feel a bit like this the nearer it gets, don't get upset sweetheart." he kissed the top of her nose gently and Carla wrapped her arms around him for a cuddle. "Listen, I know we've had my dad and Deidre in the shop quite a lot but after the next couple of days they both have stuff on and aren't going to be able to take care of everything, and I really don't want to have to be working all of the time especially if you're feeling like this. So, I'm going to tell Frank he can buy 40% of the business."  
>Carla sat up a little and sniffed quietly before shaking her head "no... No don't do that Peter."<br>Peter frowned and shook his head a little in confusion "why not?"  
>"I've sorted it out..."<br>"oh, how?"  
>"I went to meet someone a couple of weeks ago and they agreed to take care of the shop for as long as we wanted. I know they can be trusted and they don't have a job so we are doing them a favour as much as they are doing us one..."<br>"Who is it?"  
>"Darren... My brother."<br>"Your brother who was in prison?"  
>Carla nodded "it was just a stupid mistake though and that's why he's finding it so hard to get work so I thought we could help him..."<br>"Even if I agreed to this, how come it's taken you until now to tell me?"  
>"well at first I didn't know if he would be able to and now he has agreed he's trying to find a flat or something to move closer to us, but he hasn't yet so I didn't think there was much point in saying until I knew for sure he could start."<br>"Well why doesn't he just stay here until he finds somewhere?"  
>Carla frowned "what?"<br>"Well if it's just going to be temporary, until he finds somewhere else and he's doing it to help us out then surely he could just stay on the couch or something? I want him to help sooner rather than later and if that means him staying here for a while then so be it. Besides, if he is going to be running my business for me I think it's only right that we get to know each other..."  
>"So, what you're saying is that I can call him and tell him the news and you will call Frank and tell him?"<br>Peter nodded "that's about the long and short of it yeah."  
>Carla smiled "thank you... I know I probably should have told you sooner. I've got loads on today with this meeting and everything but I will try and get around to calling him. If I don't I'll try and do it tomorrow and you can let him know what he needs to do while he's in charge."<br>Peter smiled and raised his hand to the back of Carla's neck to bring her closer for a kiss.

-

Frank had been in Underworld when he got a call on his phone from Peter asking him to meet him in The Rovers for a drink and after telling Hayley he would be out for an hour, he had gone over to road to meet his cousin. On getting into the pub Frank had found Peter sitting down at one of the tables having already got him a beer and himself an orange juice. After sitting down Frank had a mouthful of the drink before speaking "alright mate, what was so urgent?"

"It wasn't really that urgent but we've made a decision so I thought I would tell you straight away rather than leave it until later."

I'm guessing this is about the bookies?"

Peter nodded "yeah, we really appreciate the offer but, Carla's brother is struggling for work so she's told him he can run it for us as a way of getting back into things and it's not like you're strapped for cash, is it?" Peter joked, and Frank laughed along with him though inside his blood was boiling.

"I didn't know she had a brother."

Peter nodded once again "yeah he's not long out of the nick…"

"Oh, what was he there for?"

"Armed robbery I think, I'm not sure though. He was in Strangeways for about 7 years though so it's not for stealing penny sweets, is it?"

"I guess not… Do you really want him working there though? An ex-convict?"

"Well if it was anyone else I wouldn't but he's her brother and she thinks we can trust him, so I think the least I can do is give it a trial run."

"Well I hope it goes well for you mate I really do, the offer is still there is you need anything…"

Peter smiled and Frank nodded at him. "I've only got half an hour before I need to get back and I've got to go and speak to my dad so I'll catch you later yeah?"

Frank nodded "yeah catch you later mate."

Peter put his now empty glass onto the bar as he walked out and crossed over to go and speak to Ken before he needed to get back to work. In The Rovers, going back to work was the last thing that Frank felt doing and it was the last thing he had any intention of doing. He knew who was behind Peter decision to decline his offer of buying into the bookies and he was going to make sure that she regretted it. If Carla wanted to go out of her way to make things awkward then do would he, if she thought that things up until then were bad, he decided that they were a walk in the park compared to what would happen from then on.

After having a conversation with Peter in the pub, Frank had drunk a couple more Whiskey's before making his way out himself. He wasn't sure where he intended going or what he intended doing, but when Carla walked out of the factory and got into her car he smirked. He knew she'd had a meeting that morning and with her working less and less he was pretty sure that she would be going back to the flat. It took him only a millisecond to silently decide that he was going to have it out with Carla and let her know just what a big mistake she had made by making things awkward for him.

As far as Frank was concerned it was his way or no way and Carla was going to find that out. As far as he was concerned he hadn't done anything wrong, Carla had tried to make a fool of him and he had made sure that she hadn't. Although he was over the limit it didn't stop him from getting into his car and follow Carla, making sure there were a few cars between them so that he wasn't directly behind her.

On arriving at the apartment block Carla got out of the car and after locking it she walked to the main door, putting in the number to open them before walking on up to her flat. She let herself in, with no idea that she had been followed or who by. Carla closed the door behind her and leaned against it gently before putting her bag into the chair that was in the living area of her flat, placing her coat over it. She found that the further she was getting into her pregnancy the more quickly she was getting tired and the less she was getting done. She could have quite easily stayed in bed all day long, though she had kept that little thought to herself. When there was a knock at the door, Carla turned around and let a small smile pass her lips, guessing that it was Peter who had forgotten his key, she opened it and on finding Frank she pushed the door closed. However, she was stopped from closing it properly when he put his foot against it to stop her. Frank pushed the door hard and knocked Carla off balance a little, taking advantage of it as he stepped through not the flat as he closed the door behind him. Carla took a step back and swallowed hard before she spoke. "You shouldn't be here, get out."  
>"I think me and you need to talk."<br>"No we don't. Now leave."  
>"do you think that you're being clever, Carla."<br>"Am I supposed to know what you're talking about or are you going to give me a clue?"  
>"Peter, the bookies, me buying it, you twisting my cousin around your little finger."<br>"I haven't done that at all... He turned down your offer, get over it."  
>"For your brother, so don't try and make out like you had nothing to do with it."<br>Carla raised her eyebrow a little "did you really think I was going to back that little idea so you could worm your way in even further?"  
>"You better change his mind."<br>Carla shook her head "no way"  
>Frank stepped closer and Carla took a step back "I'm not asking you, Carla."<br>"Get away from me..." the strength that she had been trying so hard to muster up seemed to drain away as he approached her and she knew that he was well aware of what he was doing. Whenever he approached her she was taken back to that night and although it had happened more times than she would have liked to admit, the memory was never any less terrifying.  
>Frank shrugged "or what?"<br>Before Carla could answer her breath was quite literally taken away when a pain ripped through her stomach. Carla put her hand to her side and Frank smirked, if he didn't have the upper hand before, he knew he did now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to LadyFfion and madaboutcarla for leaving comments on the last chapter. I was just wondering if someone could tell me how far you are allowed to go in a story in regards to themes, language etc… I have another idea for a fiction but I'm not sure whether it would been to be rated M or not. If anyone would be nice enough to let me know could you private message me or leave a comment. :-) Hope you enjoy this next chapter. :-)**

Part Eight.

Carla reached out and placed her hand against the back of the sofa to steady herself, she bit down on the inside of her mouth as her fingers curled around the cushion she had hold of, so tightly that her knuckles went white. When Frank spoke it oozed smugness and Carla wanted to knock his teeth out. "well well, this is quite a situation, isn't it?"  
>As much as Carla didn't want a single bit of help from him, she knew that refusing to speak to him or acknowledge what was going on could be bad for the baby so, she tried to swallow what she was feeling and concentrate on that thought as she spoke up. "Pass me my phone..." Frank raised his eyebrow a little and Carla spoke up nice again through gritted teeth. "Please..."<br>Frank smirked and shook his head "no"  
>"Well call an ambulance then, use your phone, I don't care."<br>"I could do anything I wanted right now and you wouldn't be able to stop me. I could just leave you here and not mention anything to anyone..."  
>Carla moved so that she was sitting down in the sofa, though doubled over to try and ease the pain somewhat, needless to say it didn't work. "Please don't..." she whispered breathlessly.<br>Frank stepped closer and Carla flinching wasn't missed by him, but before he got chance to say or do anything he heard a key in the front door of the flat and it caused him to take a step back and turn around. It was then that Peter walked through the door and was shocked at the scene in front of him. "What's going on?" he questioned, and quickly made his way over to Carla, sitting beside her on the sofa, running her hand over her back. "Carla..."  
>"It's the baby..."<br>Peter quickly got his phone from his pocket and called an ambulance, putting his phone down to one side as he tried to comfort Carla as best as he could, only being reminded that Frank was there when he spoke again. "I better go and let Michelle know what's going on, call me if you need anything."  
>"Yeah... Thanks." Peter nodded, though didn't take his attention away from Carla even as he spoke to Frank.<p>

Carla and Peter had been taken into one of the labour rooms on arriving at the hospital and although she tried to hide it Carla was terrified. Peter put the bag he had brought for Carla to the side of the bed and sat down in one of the chairs once. Once Carla was laid on the bed, a young blonde midwife made her way over to Carla whose expression was one of pain. "Just keep breathing through it." she soothed, though she soon realized that there was no soothing Carla as she snapped back. "What do you think I'm doing? If I wasn't breathing I wouldn't be here, would I?" Peter offered the midwife a small, apologetic smile, to which the young blonde smiled in return and shook her head subtly, letting her know that he didn't need to be sorry. She knew that what was said by a woman in labour wasn't something that should be taken to heart. If she had taken personally all of the things that had been said to her by the people she had cared for she was fairly sure she would no longer be in the profession she was. The midwife reached around behind the bed and pulled a machine forward a little, she adjusted a couple of the settings before handing a plastic tube to Carla that was attached to it. "Try this; it might take the edge off..."  
>Carla nodded and took the tube, taking a deep breath in the gas and air, biting down on the tube with her teeth to keep it in her mouth without having to use the energy to hold it there.<br>Carla turned to the side as the midwife spoke again and if she had not been breathing what she had been told would help her, she would have told her to shut up. Though she knew that she needed to know what she was being told, in a way she didn't want to know, she was well aware of the risks to her baby with it coming early and saying it out loud only made it all the more real. "Once this contraction has gone, I need to examine you and find out what's going on, if we can we want you to have a normal birth but with you going into labour early though there is a higher risk of things like emergency caesareans so the sooner we can find out what's going on the sooner we will know where we need to go from here?"  
>Carla brought her hand up to push her hair back from her tacky forehead that was already covered in a thin layer of sweat. She swallowed hard and rolled her head to one side as she heard the midwife speak once more when she noticed her relax slightly. "Right Carla, do you want to get changed so that I can find out what is going on with the baby?"<br>"Can I use the bath; I wanted a water birth..."  
>"It isn't going to be possible, if the baby is over two weeks early then we advise people not to use it as there can be risks and we don't think it's worth it."<br>Carla nodded her head in agreement that it wasn't worth risking the baby's health, though she wished that the situation was different.

-

Carla had changed into a white sloppy vest that was loose over her form, she was now laid back in the bed and after being examined she had been given steroids for the baby's lungs that were under developed and they had fastened her up to a machine so that they could have regular checks on the baby's heartbeat. Carla had been told that she was 2cm dilated and that they wanted to find out how she went before they decided whether they were going to take her to theatre or not. As the midwife left the room, Carla turned to Peter and sighed, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she felt his hand run over her hair gently.  
>"Hey, what's wrong?"<br>"What if something happens...?"  
>"Something is going to happen; you're going to have a baby..."<br>"No I mean what if something goes wrong..."  
>Peter sighed "I know what you meant; you getting worked up isn't going to help the baby though is it? Just try and stay calm, yeah?"<br>Carla nodded and Peter leaned closer to kiss her gently and she gave his hand a squeeze.  
>"What would you do if I asked for a go of your gas and air?"<br>"Tell you to shove it."  
>Peter bit back a smile and nodded "fair enough..."<br>"Why we're you going to?"  
>Peter shook his head and Carla smirked, nodding in a sarcastic manner. "Of course not."<br>"When you're having a baby, you can."  
>Peter laughed while Carla moved to lie on her side, holding the tube to her mouth as she breathed in the gas and air that she was sure was doing nothing other than making her feel really sick.<br>"What does it taste like?"  
>"Nothing, it just makes you feel sick."<br>"I thought it was supposed to send you loopy?"  
>Carla laughed a little and shook her head "it makes you feel like you're tripping a little bit but it doesn't have as much effect as I'd like..."<br>"Do you want me to ask them for something stronger?"  
>Carla held her hand out and she bitdown in her bottom lip as Peter took her hand and she squeezed his. "Stroke my back..." Peter moved the chair slightly closer and ran his hand over the bottom of Carla's back until her contraction passed. "One more down..."<br>"It's agony, surely something that is supposed to be natural isn't meant to hurt this much..."  
>"I know, but just think after all this we will have a beautiful little baby. You're doing amazing Carla..."<br>"How long do you think it will be? Imagine if we're here for hours and hours..."  
>"I don't think we'll be that long sweetheart…"<br>"how do you know?"  
>"Well, I'm no doctor but you're already two centimetres they said, and you've only been in here about 40 minutes…"<br>"I'm sure I heard somewhere that someone was in labour for 72 hours…"  
>"Is that even possible?"<p>

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor am I?" Carla snapped but shifted a little closer to him on the bed and he pulled his chair forward a little more.

"Careful, you'll roll off if you're not careful."

"Is that a dig at how fat I am?"

"You're not fat Carla… I just meant that if you move any closer to this side there won't be any bed for you to lie on…"

"I'm going to have no dignity left when I leave this room... you better not tell anyone anything about what happens in here."  
>"So what happens in the delivery room stays in the delivery room…" Peter laughed quietly and pushed Carla's hair back for her before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He knew that without a doubt if he could he would have taken the pain from her and dealt with it himself, but as it was impossible he knew he would just have to be there for her if and when he could.<p>

-

Darren arrived onto Coronation Street and as the taxi pulled away he gave a slight nod in approval to what he had arrived to. The gesture was more to himself than anything else. He noted that there was a pub not far from where he was heading and that was always a bonus in his opinion. Darren carried a large bag in his hand over one shoulder and he walked around the corner in the direction of a flat. He had rented out a flat unbeknown to Carla and decided that he would turn up and let it be a surprise for his sister, he was more than glad they had got back in touch and grateful she had offered him a job. He just hoped that the surprise went down with her as well as it was meant.

Darren knew that he had Carla had drifted apart since he had been inside and though he wished the situation was different he knew he couldn't have expected anything else. They had always been close when they were younger even though they had had their fair share of fights; he guessed that it was just a part of growing up. They could say what they liked about one another but if they heard anyone else saying it then there was trouble. He smirked at the thought. Carla ahead always been a little pocket rocket and he doubted it had changed in the slightest, if anything he would say she had gotten worse. Carla's fiery temper had always been one of her trademark qualities and regardless of what he or anyone else said, Darren knew she wouldn't be the same without it.

The flat was small but neat and tidy, the furniture in there was nice and there was plenty of space to out his belongings down and make the place his own. It was like a palace compared to the dive that he had been staying in since getting out of prison, so in his opinion it was money well spent. The money he had used to put down the deposit of two months' rent was money he had borrowed from a friend and he was hoping to find Carla and begin working as soon as he could so that he could pay that money back sooner rather than later. Darren dropped his bag onto the sofa before he walked through into the bathroom, deciding to tidy himself up and then go in search of his sister.

After a shower Darren changed into the only decent pair of jeans he owned teamed with a white t-shirt and after doing his hair into its usual messy style, he turned around and placed his wallet into his back pocket before leaving the flat. He decided the first place he would go was the pub, if Carla wasn't in there he hoped that someone was who could tell him where she was or where she might be.

As Darren pushed open the doors to the pub he sauntered over to the bar, he wasn't sure what he was waiting for but after a moment he turned to the side when the door opened and frowned slightly as a woman and a man made their way to the bar. The woman stood to the side of him and he was sure he recognized her; it was after a moment he knew who he recognized her as and immediately spoke. "Michelle?" there was an underlying tone of questioning in his voice, though he was fairly sure of whom the woman was.  
>Michelle turned around and frowned slightly before nodding "Yeah? Should I know you?"<br>Just before Darren got the chance to answer, the man that was standing to the other side of her spoke and immediately got Darren's back up with his comment and the tone in which he said it. "Do you mind, we're trying to have a conversation."  
>"I could say the same to you." Darren shot back before speaking to Michelle once more. "Yeah, well no..." she paused "sort of. I'm Carla's brother; I was just wondering if you knew where she was?"<br>"Does she know you're here?"  
>"It was supposed to be a surprise but I can't find her." he laughed a little and then fell quiet when he realized Michelle seemed worried, though he was unsure as to the reason why. "What's wrong?"<br>Michelle vaguely remembered Darren from when they had been younger but she had only met him a handful of times before he had been sent to prison. She swallowed hard at the question and was a little unsure of how she was supposed to tell him what had happened with Carla, having only just found out from Frank herself. "She's at the hospital, in labour…"  
>"What? She can't be its way too early..."<br>"She is, we were going to go up but Peter's there, Frank called the ambulance and it wasn't a false alarm." she admitted quietly, the worry for her friend plain. Before Michelle had even had the sentence out fully, Darren was out of the pub and heading towards the taxi office to get up to the hospital to try and find out what was going on and more importantly, if Carla and the baby were alright.

-

At the hospital, Carla and Peter had taken down to theatre when the baby's heartbeat had begun to drop. Carla had been laid on the bed and as the doctors and midwives rushed around her, she let her head roll to one side in the bed gently as Peter took her hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. He could feel it shaking as he did and he wasn't sure whether it was due to the drugs she had been given or due to how she was feeling, though he thought it was probably a combination of both.

Peter ran his hand over her hair gently and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead gently. "Try not to panic sweetheart..."  
>"I can't help it..." she whispered.<br>"I know I know, but just think in 20 minutes or half an hour we should have a beautiful brand new baby."  
>Carla gave a small nod "yeah..." she whispered on a shaky breath.<br>"I love you, I'm so proud of you." Peter whispered.

Carla was then told by the midwife that the anaesthetic they had given her should have worked and that she may feel pushing on her stomach, though shouldn't feel any pain. She assured her that if anything it should just be uncomfortable. Carla had nodded though she felt like her head could explode with everything that she was being told. It was scary enough that she had been rushed down to have an emergency C-section, but, on top of that she knew that the baby was early and that even if everything went well it would be likely that as soon as she had the baby home, there would be another issue to deal with.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that there was a fifty per cent chance that Frank was the father to her baby and the thought made her sick. Peter ran his hand over her hair gently as she laid on the bed and the doctors delivered the baby, she was struggling more and more as each day passed to keep what had happened to her a secret and go on like nothing had happened. She knew that she needed to be careful with how she dealt with things, Peter knew her well enough to know when something was wrong and the last thing that she wanted to do was raise his suspicions.

Carla was pulled from her thoughts when the midwife spoke to both herself and Peter "Congratulations, you have a baby boy..."  
>Carla turned to Peter with a tearful smile and he kissed her forehead before whispering "well done mummy..."<br>Carla laughed quietly, though it faded when it dawned on her that she hadn't heard her baby cry. She swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the midwife "why isn't he crying?"  
>"they're going to take him straight down to the Intensive Care Unit, that would happen with all babies, and as your baby is so early it is important we get him down there as soon as we can."<br>"Don't I get to hold him?"  
>"Not just yet, the doctor needs to check you over and make sure you're alright, we'll let you go and get a bath and by then you should be able to go down there."<br>Peter nodded at the midwife while Carla took in all she had been told "thanks, we just want him to be alright."  
>The midwife nodded politely and answered him in the hope of reassuring both Peter and Carla. "He's in the best hands. Do you have a name for him?"<br>"Bailey... Bailey-George Barlow."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you all so much for the lovely comments; I thought I would post this update sooner than I had planned as they were all so nice. It really is lovely to hear you are enjoying this. A huuuuge thank you to madaboutcarla who let me know about the ratings on here. I'm not sure if any of you like M rated fictions but I have just posted a little introduction to one that I am planning. I am hoping to get the first part of it posted tonight. :-) As always, any comments you have time to leave are really appreciated. :-) Enjoy.**

Part Nine.

Peter was sitting on his own in one of the hospital rooms while he waited for Carla to get back from getting a bath so that they could go down to the unit their son was in. Peter wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there when the door opened and at first he thought it was Carla but when a man walked through the door he frowned. "I think you've got the wrong room, mate."  
>"I'm here for my sister; do you know where room 9 is?"<br>"Who's your sister?"  
>"Carla Connor?"<br>"Oh, I think you might have the right room then."  
>Darren frowned "come again?"<br>"This is her room, I'm her boyfriend, and she's in the bathroom." Peter got up and held his hand out for the man in front of him to shake. "Peter"  
>Darren nodded and stepped in a little further; letting the door close behind him before he shook his hand "Darren" he introduced himself rather casually before speaking again. "how is she, is the baby alright?"<br>"He's in the Intensive Care Unit with him being so early, and Carla's fine."  
>"He?"<br>Peter nodded "yeah. Bailey..."  
>Darren nodded a little "congratulations."<br>"Cheers... Does she know you're here, she never mentioned anything?"  
>Darren shook his head "no, it was supposed to be a surprise, I've rented a flat near where she lives."<br>"Oh right, how did you find out we were here?"  
>"Michelle told me the score and I came straight up here to find out what was going on. One of the midwives told me which room you were in."<br>"She shouldn't be too long."  
>Darren nodded "how does it feel then? Being a dad?"<br>"Amazing. I just want to meet him now."  
>"They'll let you go down there soon won't they?" he frowned.<br>Peter nodded "yeah, I think we will go down there when Carla gets back."  
>"I might come back later then, will you let her know I was here."<br>Peter nodded "yeah, I'll let her know."  
>Darren nodded before turning on his heels to leave, as he got outside he took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and after lighting one he dragged on it heavily, glad that he had been told Carla and the baby seemed to be alright.<p>

It was moments after Darren had left that Carla was brought back into the room and she moved over gingerly to sit down on the edge of the bed. Carla gave a small smile as Peter moved over to her and ran his hand over her hair gently. She had changed into a pair of new peach pyjamas after a bath and had tied her hair up into a ponytail. Carla took Peter's hand in her own and kissed him gently on the lips before resting against his chest. Peter ran his hands over her back gently before securing them around her. He leant down to kiss the top of her head before speaking. "How are you feeling?"  
>"Tired, sore, rough. I just want to go and hold him."<br>"I know you do sweetheart, but we just have to wait for them to come and get us, if they're not here soon I'll go and ask them what's going on."  
>"Do you think he'll be alright?"<br>"I think he's a fighter like his mum..."  
>"How are you feeling anyway daddy?"<br>Peter smiled "I'm over the moon; I'm worried about him of course. But he's in the best hands and if anything had happened they'd have been up to tell us by now."  
>Carla nodded in agreement and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I love you."<br>"I love you too... I met your brother today..."  
>Carla frowned "how? When? You didn't say anything..."<br>"He's just come to the hospital for you"  
>"Where is he now?"<br>"He wasn't sure how long you were going to be so he left, he said he would try to get back later."  
>"How come he was here? How did he know I was here?"<br>"He's moved into a flat and he was going to find you and Michelle told him what had happened so he came down."  
>Carla nodded "so he went before I got back?"<br>Peter nodded "yeah, I think he'll come back though."  
>Before Carla got the chance to answer the midwife that had been with her throughout her labour walked through the door with a friendly smile adorning her features. "Hi Peter, Carla, how are you feeling?"<br>"I want to go and meet my son, can I?"  
>The midwife smiled and nodded at what he had said "that's what I've come here to tell you, we can take you now if you would like?"<br>Carla nodded "please..."

Carla made her way down to the unit where Bailey was going to be until the doctors were sure that he could come off the machines. After washing their hands with anti-bac gel, Carla was taken into the room and Peter followed her, standing to her side when she chair she was in was placed to the side of the incubator that Bailey was laid in. Carla gasped quietly and brought her hand up to her mouth, swallowing down unfallen tears as she tried her best to keep her emotions under control. One of the things that had worried her from the moment that she had found out she was pregnant was not being able to be a good mum. She wasn't sure of what the criterion was of being a good mum but she sure knew how not to be, after having so much personal experience with her own. The love that she felt for Bailey wasn't something that she could explain, and, on feeling it she wondered how her mum could have treated herself and Darren as she had done. When she had been handed Bailey in the special care unit she had finally understood what unconditional love was, and the overwhelming need to protect the little person that she'd had in her arms.

Peter also found himself choked on standing by the baby that to him was perfect; he fell in love with Bailey immediately and gave Carla's shoulder a gentle squeeze as comfort for her, as well as himself. Peter let a small smile pass his lips when he heard Carla whisper and hoped more than anything that Bailey would be alright.  
>"Hello baby boy..." Carla whispered, moving her hand through one if the gaps that was in the incubator, running her finger over his cheek gently.<br>"He's beautiful Carla..."  
>"He's so perfect..."<br>"He gets that from his mum."  
>Carla smiled, moving her hand to let it fall over Bailey's hand, she swallowed and turned around as the midwife made her way back over to them after talking to a doctor. "Can I hold him?"<br>The midwife nodded "we just need to be careful of the wires..."  
>Carla nodded at what she had said and Bailey was carefully taken from the incubator and given to Carla who wrapped a blanket around him to make sure he was warm, holding him close. When he had been picked up by the midwife he had begun crying, but on being taken by Carla he had fallen silent. Peter smiled as he spoke, sitting down in a chair beside Carla "I think he's a mummy's boy..."<br>Carla smiled "of course he is..."

-

It was around an hour later when Carla and Peter had been told that they needed to go back up to their room and although Carla had wanted to sit with Bailey for the rest of the night she had known that she needed to go and get some rest. On getting back to the room Carla had intended to go to bed but had found Darren sitting on it waiting for her, she offered a small smile and let the door close behind her before speaking. "You could have given me some warning you were going to turn up."  
>"Well, it didn't quite go to plan. I thought you might have been in the pub or at work but no, I turn up to find out that you're in hospital."<br>"Yeah, I went into labour just to complicate things for you."  
>He smirked "I'm glad I mean that much to you."<br>Carla shook her head before moving to sit on the bed beside him "you don't."  
>"How is he then? My nephew?"<br>Carla let a small smile flicker over her lips and nodded "he's alright, we are just hoping that the steroids they gave me will have helped with his breathing and stuff but we probably won't know that until they have run tests and things."  
>"When are they doing that?"<br>"Tomorrow I think."  
>"Can I meet him?"<br>Carla shook her head "not tonight, we've just been told to come back up here."

"I've got something for him…"

Carla raised her eyebrow a little "as long as it's not a football shirt."

Darren laughed before producing a baby blue coloured bear from a bag he had placed by the side of the bed "I know it's a bit predictable but it's the best I could do at short notice…"

Carla smiled "it's lovely, thank you."

"I got something for you too, so don't feel left out."

"My, you have been busy."

Darren handed her a box of chocolates and she smiled slightly more "I'm not sure whether they're still your favourite, but…"

Before Darren could finish, Carla answered him with a nod "they are."

Peter observed the exchange between Carla and Darren and he let a small smile pass his lips. Carla had never really mentioned him but they seemed to be fairly close, close enough for her to allow him into the room after she'd just had a baby anyway. She didn't seem to have any objections to him meeting their son so he guessed that things between them couldn't be that bad. Deciding that Carla needed time with her brother, Peter spoke up to excuse himself from the room. "I am just going to go for a cig… I think I'd better ring my dad and Diedre too, to let them know they have another grandson."  
>Carla gave a small smile and nodded "alright, bring a drink back for me would you?"<br>Peter nodded and kissed her on the forehead, and said bye to Darren before he made his way out of the room and down the corridor of the hospital.

When the door closed behind Peter, Darren spoke up "you seem quite calm..."  
>"How do you mean?"<br>"Well with Bailey being in intensive care I thought you might have been..." he shrugged "I don't know, I thought you might be on eggshells."  
>"I'm worried, of course I am, but they have told us not to get too worked up, there were no signs when they took him down that he wouldn't be alright. His lungs are under-developed with him being so early but they gave me stuff while I was in labour to help him and they have him on machines to make sure he doesn't struggle. They're doing everything they can to make sure he is going to be fine." Darren smiled and Carla frowned at the expression, shaking her head a little. "What?"<br>"You, it suits you."  
>"What does?"<br>"Being a mum..."  
>"Does it?"<br>Darren nodded with a small smile and Carla fell quiet, one thing that she didn't want was modelling what her mum was like with her. She always remembered her telling her that if she ever had kids she would treat them the same and Carla had always been adamant that she wouldn't. She sighed quietly as a day that seemed to be embedded in her mind came to the front of it again, it was something that she would have rather forgotten but like most things that Carla wanted to forget, it seemed almost impossible.

_It was Friday night and a 12 year old Carla was sitting in front of the heater that was in her living room, her mum always went mad when she had it on as it made the meter run out doubly quick, but she was freezing after just having had a bath and was taking advantage of her mum not being there. As usual, Friday night meant getting drunk in the pub for Jackie, after pulling a few tricks that was. She usually sold more gear on a Friday too, which paid for her drinking her bodyweight in alcohol. Carla huddled around the small heater as she changed into her pyjamas. After doing so, she picked up the bar of chocolate she had gotten earlier that day and began eating it, the TV was on low and was playing cartoons, something which Carla hadn't grown out of finding amusing yet, and she had been so engrossed in the programme, she hadn't heard the front door open._

_Jackie was annoyed when she walked through the door, a fight had kicked off between the two crowds that used her local, which had resulted in it shutting early, and due to this she was nowhere near as drunk as she would have liked. She tripped over something in the hall and cursed, which was when Carla became aware of her presence. She put the chocolate down to her side quickly and leaned over to turn the heater off, she had just scrambled to her feet intending to go and sit on the worn sofa that was one of the few possessions they had, when Jackie stood in the doorway and spoke, her tone harsh._

"_Have you had that heater on?"_

_Carla shook her head, taking a step back from it "no…"_

_Jackie moved over to the heater, the noise of her heels against the floor seeming much louder to Carla than it was in reality. "Do not lie to me." Jackie snapped, shouting now and on finishing her sentence she hit Carla hard with the back of her hand. Carla lost her balance and fell with her back against the sofa; she swallowed hard and took a moment to get her bearings before getting up once more, only slower this time._

"_Sod off to bed." Jackie snapped "I don't want you back down here until in the morning."_

_Carla moved quickly from the room and went upstairs to get into bed, her cheek still stinging. That night, she cried herself to sleep and dreamt of a life where she didn't have to beg her mum to put the heating on and where she didn't have to ask her brother to get food for the pair of them, which she knew to him translated as going to pinch some. The following morning Carla woke with a bruise on her cheek, and her mum didn't even so much as acknowledge it._

"I don't want to be like her…" she whispered after a lengthy pause.

Darren wrapped his arm around Carla gently and kissed the side of her head before he spoke. "You won't be anything like her Car; I think you'll be an amazing mum."  
>"I hope so, I really do..."<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**I just want to say a big big thank you to everyone who left a comment on that last chapter, I really appreciate them. I meant to post this chapter a few days ago but I haven't got around to doing it so I hope you're all still interested. I hope you enjoy this :-) please leave a comment if you have the time. :-)**

Part Ten.

It was two weeks later and Carla had got up and showered before changing into a pair of black leggings with knee high boots and a loose cream colored shirt. She tied her hair into a plait that lay over her right shoulder and put her make-up on. She had just sprayed on some perfume when Peter walked through the door which caused her to smile. "hey you"  
>"hello gorgeous, are you ready to leave?"<br>Carla nodded and after picking up her bag she walked closer to take Peter's hand. "I can't wait to bring him home."  
>"You won't have to wait much longer..."<br>Carla smiled and gave Peter's had a gentle squeeze before they left the flat, locked it and then descended the stairs. After getting into the car, Peter drove them to the hospital where they had been told the day before that they could take Bailey home. In arriving at the hospital, Carla and Peter walked through the corridors that had become all too familiar over the past couple of weeks and on reaching the nurses room Carla popped her head around the door with a smile. "Hey... I've come to take Bailey."  
>The midwife who had taken care of her when she had been in labour beamed back at her and nodded in acknowledgement before speaking. "The doctor is just doing some last minute checks so you don't have to come back tomorrow." she offered a cake tin out to her "Julie brought these in freshly made today, do you want one while we wait?"<br>"Will they know we are here?"  
>"I think he'll come here and tell us when he is done."<br>Carla smiled and nodded, stepping into the room with Peter following her, both of them sitting down before taking a blueberry muffin from the tin. "Thank you. Where is everyone?"  
>"Oh we're rushed off our feet today love, once you have gone its back to business as usual for me."<br>"I bet you're always busy, are you?"  
>The young blonde midwife, Eden, nodded "yeah, one minute it can be really quiet and then the next minute all the rooms are full and we have to send people to other hospitals."<br>Carla gave a small smile and nodded, she guessed the work would be rewarding for whoever was doing it though she did not know where they got their patience from. She had never been known for being too good with patience, though she knew now that she had Bailey that would have to change. As she was thinking, Eden leaned forwards and spoke to Peter. "How does it feel being a daddy then Peter?"  
>"One of the best feelings in the world" he smiled and she did too.<br>When a low cry could be heard from one of the rooms, Carla cringed and Eden smiled. "Bring back memories does it?"  
>"Hm, you could say that..."<br>"Worth it though?"  
>Carla nodded "of course. Listen, can I ask you something?"<br>Eden nodded "of course you can."  
>"You know the stitches in my stomach, they're still sore, is that normal?"<br>She nodded "yeah, it is. As long as it's not too uncomfortable, if it gets too much for you go to your doctor and tell them about it."  
>Carla nodded "thank you"<br>Eden smiled "anytime.'

It was only moments after Carla and Peter had finished the cake they had been given and the conversation they had been having with Eden that the doctor walked through to the room. "Hello Mrs Connor, Mr Barlow" he nodded in acknowledgement "I've done the checks that I need to do on Bailey if you want to come and get him now?"  
>Carla smiled and nodded, standing up along with Peter "yeah, we've wanted to get him home for weeks."<br>"Well the time is here." he smiled "he's a little fighter."  
>Carla smiled and gave the midwife a hug, thanking her for everything that she had done and after Peter had done the same they left the nurses room and walked the direction of the unit that Bailey was on. In Peter's right had he had a car seat that at that moment in time was empty, but which would soon be carrying their baby.<p>

-

Carla arrived back in the street with Peter around half an hour later and he parked outside Ken and Deidre's before Carla got out, carrying Bailey. She had intended to go over to Darren's for a coffee as she had promised she would but when Hayley had called her over with the door of the factory open, she guessed she would probably be a little longer. Her thoughts were confirmed when Hayley walked in her direction, followed by Sean, Beth, Fiz and Izzy a little behind her who had abandoned their work to greet her. Hayley walked over and stood beside Carla who smiled in response to her comment. She was already gushing over Bailey even though she had only been in her presence for seconds. "Oh Carla he's beautiful."  
>"Like his mum." Peter stated with a wide smile as he joined them.<br>Carla laughed and turned to Sean as he spoke, suddenly finding herself in the middle of the group that had gathered by Ken and Deidre's house. "How are you feeling?"  
>"I'm just glad to finally have him home."<br>"Any ideas of when you will be back at work?"  
>Carla laughed "missing me already Sean?"<br>"Naturally"  
>"I'm not sure, I want to have at least a couple of months off with him first."<br>"I bet you don't want to leave him when the time comes, he's adorable. If you ever need a babysitter Carla..."  
>Carla laughed a little and nodded at Marcus who had joined them "thanks, I'll erm, I'll bare it in mind..."<br>Carla had barely got her words out when Hayley spoke up once again "can I have a hold?"  
>Carla smiled and nodded, deciding that as Bailey wasn't asleep there was no need to worry about waking him up, which was a good job with the amount of people that were now around. "Yeah, here..." she carefully passed him over to Hayley who ran her finger over his cheek gently and began talking to him in a tone much higher than she usually used.<p>

"Alright sis?"  
>Carla smiled and turned around as she heard the voice come from behind her. As Darren reached them he said hello to Peter and turned to speak to Carla once again, but before he could get the words out, Beth spoke. "Sis? You've kept him quiet Carla."<br>Carla raised her eyebrow a little "is it any wonder..." As she made her way over, Carla pushed her hair back gently with her hand before speaking up once more. "Shouldn't you be working?"  
>"No, I've told them they can have an early lunch." When Carla head the voice she felt her blood run cold and she wanted to take Bailey home and lock the rest of the world out. She swallowed hard and forced herself to turn around, putting up a front once again, and one that she had mastered perfectly a long long time ago. "I need a word."<br>"I'm busy."  
>"It's alright; I'll wait here for you..." Peter smiled and Carla felt her stomach churn in dread.<br>"What is then?" she questioned, putting a small frown on her expression to show her confusion, it wasn't that she wanted to know but she thought that was what her expression should be like, so she made sure that it was.  
>"I need to go over a couple of files with you..." Frank turned and walked back into Underworld and Carla swallowed hard. She wished she could just run away and not have to deal with what she knew was inevitable. As she made her way to Underworld using careful steps, she tried to prolong the journey for as long as she could but she knew it was impossible to put off completely, and it was that thought that was driving her mad. Carla willed herself to be strong as she stepped through the main doors of Underworld and made her way through to the office.<br>"You brought him home then?"  
>"I'm not doing this. If you don't want to talk about files, I've got nothing to say." Carla turned to walk back through the door she had entered through but before she could leave, Frank moved forward and slammed the door closed. "You don't have a choice, Carla."<br>"I think you'll find I do, Frank."  
>"He's gorgeous. He must get it from his father." Frank smirked and Carla could hear the smugness in his tone which made her want to rip him apart, limb by limb.<br>"Yeah, Deidre showed me the pictures. Peter was a gorgeous baby."  
>"You said he was mine."<br>"Yeah well, I lied."  
>"I don't think you did."<br>She shook her head in disbelief "you were threatening to rape me, I'd have said anything."  
>"Do you remember what else I said?"<br>"I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway..."  
>Carla jumped when Frank grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against the filing cabinet, the pain that shot through her stomach as he did quite literally took her breath away. She moved her hand to place over where the pain was, hoping that it would ease it somewhat. "Don't try and take me on Carla, we both know what happened last time you did and don't think I'm not capable of doing it again."<br>Carla managed to bite back a cry at her situation, and swallowed hard. She was about to speak up and ask him to let go of her, not being in any fit state to fight with him at that moment in time, and the thought terrified her. However, before she did, Hayley's voice could be heard, and Frank immediately released her. "Carla..." she was a little unsure of what was going on and if she was truthful she didn't like what she thought she had witnessed though she decided to keep it to herself. "Peter was just wondering how much longer you would be..."  
>Carla shook her head a little "I'm coming now."<br>"Oh... Right, I think he wants to go in for a coffee with Ken."  
>Carla gave a small smile and nodded; adjusting her bag on her shoulder before she left the office with Hayley, not even so much as acknowledging Frank as she did. She was silently wondering if Hayley knew anything, but knew she could not ask her without causing suspicion, and at that moment in time it was the last thing that she needed.<p>

-

Carla had been for a coffee with Ken and Deidre who were smitten with Bailey and while she was there she had gotten a phone call from Michelle who had asked her to stop off for a coffee. Peter had been due to meet Darren at the Bookies to let him know what he needed him to do so that he could be left to it and with the knowledge that Frank was at work; Carla decided to take advantage of that. After saying bye to Peter she had got a taxi to Michelle's and was stood outside waiting for her to answer the door. As she waited she adjusted the blanket that was around Bailey and smiled as Michelle opened the door. "You took your time, we're freezing out here."  
>"Oh here he is, my new baby nephew." she smiled, stepping to one side to allow Carla into the huge house she shared with Frank. As soon as Carla stepped through the door she felt uncomfortable, not due to being in Michelle's presence, but due to being in <em>his<em> house. "Yeah, he's finally home."  
>Michelle smiled "well give him here then, I've been after a cuddle for weeks."<br>Carla smiled and passed Bailey over to Michelle who kissed him on the forehead gently. "Oh Carla, he's beautiful."  
>"I know he's perfect."<br>Michelle moved over to sit down on the couch with Bailey before speaking to Carla again "you know where the kettle is, Car."  
>"So, I come to your house and I have to make my own cuppa? You need to work on your people skills 'Chelle." Carla teased before she walked through into the kitchen.<br>"Let's just hope you don't grow up with your mummy's cheek hey?" Michelle smiled; speaking to Bailey in a sing song voice, though making sure it was loud enough for Carla to hear.  
>Carla smiled to herself before going on to make two coffees', the one person that she liked to share things with was Michelle, they were so close and she was without doubt her closest female friend. Carla did still think of her as a sister but she hated feeling like she couldn't talk to her properly and she knew the single reason for that was due to the partner she had. Though she didn't mean to, Carla had picked up on a few comments that Frank had made and guessed Michelle must have just made an offhand comment for him to know. It was stupid to think how she did and she knew it, with him being related to Peter he was going to find out things, though as far as she was concerned, the less he knew about her life, the better. She sighed quietly and shook her head, knowing that at that moment in time wasn't the best time to choose to think about what she was. She plastered a smile back over her expression and walked back through into the living area of the house, putting Michelle's coffee down on the table that was to the side of the couch before she sat down herself.<br>"How are you feeling then?" Michelle questioned, moving her finger gently that Bailey had hold of.  
>"It's still all a bit surreal. I'm just really glad that we've got him home and that we can have him in his nursery and stuff."<br>Michelle smiled "Frank was talking to me about kids."  
>Carla just about disguised almost choking on her coffee, hesitating for a second before she answered. "Oh..." she started, running her tongue over her top set of teeth as she tried desperately to think of what to say. "Has he?"<br>Michelle nodded "we've just talked about it, it's nothing definite yet. We want to get married first."  
>"Do you want more kids?"<br>"Well I wasn't sure, I hadn't really thought about it. I just had Ryan and that was that but thinking about it and holding this little one here. I think I do yeah..."  
>Carla bit down on her bottom lip and raised her hand to push her hair back gently, she knew that she had to at least try and talk her friend out of what she was doing, knowing she would never forgive herself if she didn't.<br>"Michelle, there was something I needed to talk to you about..."  
>"Oh yeah, what was it?" she smiled, turning her attention from Bailey, to Carla.<br>Carla had another sip of the coffee though it was slightly too hot to drink, it was something that distracted her from the dread that seemed to be filling every part of her, even if it was for just a few seconds. "About Frank..."  
>"Oh, what about him?" she frowned a little which indicated her confusion, but before Carla could answer, Frank stepped into the doorway. "Yeah, what about me?"<br>Carla's heart thumped faster against her chest and she was sure it was making an imprint on the inside. She tried to think of what to say to get herself out of the situation that she was in, though she was struggling. After some hesitation, she just about managed to string a sentence together. "I erm, I was just going to say to make sure you set the date for the wedding for something not too soon so I have chance to get some of this baby weight off."  
>"Oh as if you need to. I don't think we're setting it for another month are we?"<br>Frank shook his head "whenever you want to darling."  
>Before any of them could reply, the phone rang and Frank walked out into the hall to answer it, though returned moments later "Michelle, it's your mum." Michelle smiled and Carla put her coffee on the table before taking Bailey from her. "Listen 'Chelle I'm going to get off, we both know how long your mum can talk for."<br>Michelle laughed and gave Carla hug before saying bye to Bailey, she then walked through to the hall to take the call from here mum. Carla adjusted her bag on her shoulder before walking to the hall to follow Michelle out, but she was stopped by Frank's hand holding her arm tightly. "Let go of me or I will scream this place down."  
>"Don't you ever, ever even think about saying anything to her, or try to get one over on me. You will do a DNA test on that kid and you'll do it when I tell you to, so you better start picking up the phone when it's me calling." He snapped, though his tone was quiet to make sure that there was no chance of Michelle over-hearing. He then leaned in even closer to kiss Carla on the cheek before standing back with a smirk.<br>Carla pulled her arm away before heading out of the house, her skin crawling at having to be anywhere near him. Carla held Bailey a little closer to her as she walked out of the house and down the path to get a taxi, silently terrified of what the next few days would bring.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to everyone who left the lovely comments. It's taken me longer than I thought to post this chapter but here goes. :-) I hope you enjoy it, please leave a comment if you have time. :-)**

Part Eleven.

The following day, Carla had just had a bath and changed into a lemon colored pyjama's set and had bathed Bailey with Peter. She was sitting on the couch, cuddling Bailey close to her and she turned around when Peter spoke. "Car, do you mind if I go for a drink? Your Darren wants to go for a couple and I want to talk to him about the Bookies."  
>"I think you two have got a little bromance going on that you're just trying to play down in front of me."<br>Peter laughed "well there was something I needed to tell you."  
>Carla smiled and nodded "go in then, just don't be back too late."<br>"I won't be, you know I won't. I love you."  
>"I love you too..." she leaned up to kiss him and smiled when Peter placed a gentle kiss on Bailey's forehead. "Night night little man."<br>"Go on you soppy old sod."  
>"I have more than one problem with that comment."<p>

"Why? It's all true."

"Apart from the old bit…"

Carla raised her eyebrow a little and shook her head. "I'm not sure about that one lover."

"At least pretend to be. I could get really touchy."

"I thought it was only women who were supposed to get touchy about their age?"

"No, us men can too, you know. I might be deeply sensitive about it…"  
>Carla laughed and kissed Peter once more before he picked up his leather jacket, ruffled her hair and walked out of the flat.<p>

-

It was around twenty minutes later and Carla was sitting talking to Bailey on her own, making the most of having him home. "Where's daddy gone hey? I think he's off down the pub with Uncle Darren." she smiled and placed her finger in his hand gently, her smile growing wider when she felt him hold onto it. She had not long fed Bailey his bottle and gave him a dummy before rocking him gently as she waited for him to nod off. She silently wondered what she had done before she'd had him and found herself unable to imagine her life without him now. Carla was silently deciding what she should do when he went to bed, she was glad that Peter and Darren were getting on and though she'd had her doubts at first, she was glad that he had come back into her life. She ran her hand over Bailey's cheek gently as he began to nod off and turned with a small smile when she heard a key in the door, guessing Peter had changed his mind about going out. "Shhhh, Peter he's almost..." she stopped dead when Frank walked through the door and got up from the sofa quickly. Well, as quickly as she could with a tired baby in her arms. "How... What..." she stuttered, swallowing hard when she found her throat suddenly very dry. "Where did you get that from?" she questioned, referring to the key he had used.  
>"Be quiet Carla, you don't want to wake him up, do you?" Frank stated smugly, completely ignoring the question she had asked.<br>"Get out."  
>Frank laughed and shook his head, closing the door properly almost to emphasize his point. "No, you and I have things to talk about."<br>"No we don't, I want you to leave right now."  
>Frank shrugged "we don't always get what we want though, do we?" he stated, before walking around to sit down on the couch. "Go and put him to bed."<br>Carla had thought about arguing with him but she knew that it was pointless to do so. It would wake him up and that was something that she wanted to try and avoid. She sighed quietly and turned, walking into her room to put Bailey in his cot. Carla and Peter had decorated the nursery for him but they had decided for the first few weeks he would stay with them in their bedroom. Carla placed him down gently and made sure he was tucked in; she kissed him on the forehead and whispered that she loved him before turning around. On walking back out into the living area of the flat she folded her arms over her chest in a defensive manner and spoke once more, her told cold and sharp. "I don't want you here."  
>"Sit down."<br>"No."  
>"I'm not asking you Carla. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."<br>Carla hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the couch, making sure there was a large gap between her and Frank. "What do you want?"  
>"I want to know if he is my son."<br>"He isn't..."  
>"well you we're never going to admit it were you?"<br>"Peter is his dad."  
>"There is a 50% chance Peter is his dad."<br>Carla bit down on the inside of her mouth and shook her head a little, she knew it was daft but saying it out loud made it all the more real and she hated it. She hated the thought that Bailey could be Frank's and it killed her a little bit more on the inside every time it was mentioned. It was moments before Carla's walls went up and she smirked, scoffing as she shook her head a little before speaking. "No, he isn't so I suggest you get off my couch and out of my flat before I call your girlfriend and call Peter and tell them just what you're like and what's gone on." she snapped, getting up off the sofa. When Frank did the same Carla felt her heart rate speed up, she raised her eyebrow a little and he took it as a challenge, approaching her with two large steps he grabbed either one of her shoulders and she pushed him back roughly. "That was one thing I've always liked about you Carla, how feisty you are."  
>Carla shook her head a little and took a step away from him but was stopped when he grabbed hold of her arm. "If that kid is mine I want access."<br>"He isn't. I don't know how many times you want me to tell you." She shouted, and though she had tried to prevent it, the desperation that she felt was seeping through into her tone.  
>"You are going to go in there and get a swab from that child and give it to me."<br>"No, I'm not..."  
>"I am warning you, if you don't I will and I promise you if you make this anymore awkward for me you will regret it." he snapped, pushing her back against the kitchen counter harshly. "I'm just about sick of hearing you." Frank smirked and moved his hand lower before forcing it between her legs which caused Carla to gag, pushing against his chest to try and free herself from him, though it seemed as she was losing strength he was gaining it. Frank leaned closer, so close that Carla could feel his breath against her skin, causing her to wretch. "But I could shut you up in a second if I decided to. Now you and me both know that regardless of how much you threaten me you'll tell Peter, you won't. I'm not scared of your little boyfriend Carla, so if you want to ruin your relationship then you go ahead. I don't really care. What I am bothered about is whether I have a son. If not, we'll have to make sure that next time I do get one."<br>Carla was powerless to tears from cascading down her cheeks, terrified at the prospect of history repeating itself. After a few moments Carla managed to choke out a sentence though her voice was nowhere near as strong as she would have liked it to be. "Please, please don't..."  
>"Go and get the swab."<br>Carla nodded "I will just let go..."  
>Frank pushed her backwards and let go, running his hand over his hair before speaking up once again. "Go on then."<br>Carla gave a small nod before getting a cotton bud from the kitchen, walking through into her bedroom; she sat down on the edge of the bed and wanted to weep. She didn't in any way want Bailey to be Frank's, but what he had said and ringing in her ears making her feel sick to the stomach. She was so scared at the prospect she couldn't even put it into words, and she was silently wondering how much longer she could go on and keep it to herself. Carla decided she would rather take on Frank than to risk getting Bailey involved with him, she wanted to protect him as much as she could and it was with that a thought occurred to her. She turned to check that Frank was still in the living room and took a swab of her own DNA from inside of her cheek. Carla stood up on shaky legs to walk out of the bedroom, though was stopped when she found Frank in the doorway. "Here…"

"Do I have mug tattooed on my forehead?"

Carla shook her head "no…"

"Then don't treat me like one." He snapped, approaching her quickly before holding her chin tightly.

"Go and get another one of them and do it properly." He knocked the cotton bud from her hand roughly and threw her head back. Carla swallowed back sobs that were threatening to choke her before making her way out of the bedroom. After doing as he had told her she hurried back in, not wanting to leave him alone with Bailey for a moment longer than she had to. Carla stepped past him cautiously and leant down to take the DNA sample from her son. After she had done she had barely stood up when Frank snatched it from her and put it into a plastic bag and then into an envelope. Frank walked out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen, going through cupboards as Carla checked on Bailey once more. She heard Frank speak as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door too once more.  
>"Why haven't you got any drinks in here?"<br>"Why would we, Peter doesn't drink."  
>"You do."<br>"Not in here." she sighed "you have what you want... Why don't you just go."  
>"Well I don't have everything I want..."<br>"Get out, Frank."  
>"Alright I'm going, I'm going. I'll let you know what the results say."<br>"Don't bother. I know what they're going to say."  
>Frank smirked "of course you do." he turned to leave and she spoke again, she wanted him out as soon as possible but at the same time she didn't want to risk anything like what was going on at that moment in time happening again. "Give me the key."<br>"No, I think I'll keep it a little longer. You know, just in case..."  
>Carla shook her head a little though she didn't say anything else, she knew that he would keep it if for nothing else than knowing that she wanted it. When the door closed she moved over as fast as was possible to make sure that the door was locked with her own key, and the chain was on. She pushed her hair back gently before sliding down to the floor with her back against the door. She had liked to think that she was strong but with the most recent events in her life she was beginning to think differently. The thought of telling Peter kept coming back to her and she was seriously considering it, she knew that if Bailey was Peter's she probably would. But, if he wasn't she knew that not only would it be harder to keep a secret, the more she would want to keep it a secret. Carla knew that in the end she would have had to have had a DNA test done on Bailey, but she had wanted to do it in her own time. She hadn't wanted Frank involved but he had made sure that neither of those things were going to become a reality for her. She had thought about lying about the test if she'd had it done and the result wasn't what she wanted and although Frank had made comments about her child being his, she had never thought he was going to follow them up. Taunt her with them, yes. But never had she imagined him telling her that he wanted access. Now thinking back she guessed it was naïve of her after everything else that he had done, but it was true and she knew she might be able to lie to the rest of the world, but not herself.<p>

-

Carla went to bed not long after Frank had gone, she was unsure whether she would be able to settle, but knew sitting up going over and over what had happened would do her any good either. She had been in bed for around 20 minutes when she heard the door open once more and her heart went to her mouth. She turned around quickly and stepped to the doorway of the bedroom, making sure she was in the shadows. She waited for something else to happen but sighed in relief when she heard Peter's voice. "Carla? Open the door..."  
>Carla walked over to the front door and took the chain off before letting him in. She closed the door and locked it once more. "Why was the door locked love, is everything alright?"<br>Carla nodded "yeah, I must have just out the chain on without thinking."  
>"Did I wake you up?"<br>Carla shook her head "no I had just gone to bed."  
>"Is Bailey asleep?"<br>Carla nodded "are you coming to bed?"  
>Peter nodded and took hold of Carla's hand, walking through into their bedroom. It was only moments later that Carla climbed back into bed and Peter undressed down to his boxers before getting in beside her. Carla shuffled a little closer to Peter who wrapped his arms around her for a cuddle.<br>"You know, no matter what happens I love you, don't you?"  
>Peter frowned "why? What's going to happen?"<br>"I'm just saying..."  
>"I love you too." he smiled and kissed her on the top of the head, totally unaware of what was going on in Carla's head and the emotional turmoil that she was in.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello again everyone, a big thanks to everyone who left comments for the last chapter of this. It's taken me longer to upload than I thought; this chapter never seemed to go right. I forgot to say in this little note thing on the last chapter, a huge thanks to WithoutAWord for leaving the big comment. :-) Anyway, here goes. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, please leave a comment if you have time. :-)**

Part Twelve.

Four days later Carla woke to find Peter sitting on the side of the bed, cradling Bailey in his arms as he fed him his bottle. Carla hadn't spoken to Frank or had anything to do with him since he had let himself into her flat and gotten the DNA sample from Bailey. She had deliberately not gone into work just in case he was there and although she knew she couldn't carry on doing what she was forever, the thought if dealing with it was getting harder and harder for her to stomach as each day passed. When Carla stirred Peter turned around and smiled when he found that she was awake. "He's hungry this morning."  
>"Yeah, he seems it."<br>"Have you got any plans for today?"  
>Carla shook her head "no why?"<br>"I thought maybe we could take him to his first trip to the park this morning. I think I might go to the Bookies this afternoon to give your Darren a hand, I've just left him to his own devices lately."  
>"Isn't that what you're paying him for?"<br>"yeah but I just want to make sure that things are running smoothly."  
>"So a morning in the park it is then?"<br>Peter smiled and nodded "why don't you go and get a shower while I sort him out and then you can have a cuddle while I get ready?"  
>Carla nodded and leaned over to kiss Peter gently on the lips, she then moved her legs around to the side of the bed before standing up, walking through into the bathroom to get ready for the morning she planned to spend with Peter and her son.<p>

-

An hour later and Carla had changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a cream chiffon shirt with a black vest underneath. They were tucked into her jeans and she teamed the outfit with black knee-high boots. She tied her hair up into a ponytail and had just finished putting her make-up on when Peter walked through into the bedroom with Bailey who he had dressed in a white all in one with a blue bear on the front. As she took Bailey from Peter, Carla spoke up. "Do you want to ask Simon if he wants to come? I thought you said he had a teacher training day today..."  
>"You wouldn't mind?"<br>Carla shook her head "course not..." she knew that things between herself and Simon were still much less than perfect but she knew that they were better than they were and that regardless of what he thought of her she had to make an effort with him as he was Peter's son. One thing that she was glad of though was that he seemed to be smitten with Bailey.  
>"Well once we are ready why don't we go to the house and ask him if he wants to come with us?"<br>"Yeah, alright."  
>"I shouldn't be too long..."<br>Carla kissed Peter before he went to get a shower and once he had changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt he put his leather jacket on and Carla put her black jacket on before heading outside. Once they had locked the flat and got outside of the apartment block, Carla put Bailey into the pushchair and linked arms with Peter as they walked in the direction of the street.

While they were walking Carla and Peter talked about anything from business to Bailey and what they were planning that day. When they were walking past the factory Peter called out to Leanne who had just stepped out of the pub and Carla silently sighed. Things between them were still very tense though they tried to keep it civil for Simon's sake. Carla crossed the road with Peter as he walked towards Leanne who had turned around but made no attempt to move or speak. "Is Simon there?"  
>Leanne frowned "why?"<br>"We want to take him out for the morning."  
>Leanne hesitated for a second before nodding. "I'll go and ask him."<br>"Thank you." Peter sighed and moved his arm to wrap around Carla's shoulders as he waited for them to return. "It's quite cold when that sun isn't out."  
>"I know yeah, if it gets too cold we might have to cancel."<br>"I know, don't worry, he's well wrapped up."  
>Carla gave a small smile and nodded "yeah I know..."<br>"You're so good with him, you know..."  
>"So are you."<br>"What do you think to having more?"  
>Carla laughed a little "let me get used to having this one first hey."<br>"But it's not completely out of the question."  
>"I don't think so, no..."<br>Peter smiled and gave Carla a gentle squeeze, though moved his arm from around her shoulder when Simon ran at him. "Dad..." he smiled "where are we going?"  
>"We thought we would go to the park today, would you like that?"<br>He nodded "yeah, can I get my football?"  
>"Of course you can."<br>Simon leaned over to the push-chair that Bailey was in and smiled "he's awake. Can I hold him?"  
>"I think you've forgotten to say hello to someone first..."<br>"Hi Carla..." Simon mumbled, slightly quieter this time.  
>"Hello... You know, you could have a cuddle with him before we go to the park if you wanted?"<br>Simon nodded with a smile "yeah can I, please?"

"Yeah, but sit down first."  
>"Come on" Simon instructed, taking Carla's arm to pull her gently towards the doors of the pub. On getting into the pub Carla sat down after taking Bailey into her arms and Simon sat beside her. Peter smiled at the pair of them but his attention was taken when Leanne called him over. "Peter..."<br>Peter frowned for a moment and turned to Carla "do you mind sitting with these two while I go speak to her?"  
>Carla shook her head "no, go on..."<br>Peter turned around and walked through to the back of the pub with Leanne while Carla carefully placed Bailey in Simon's arms. "There you go, have you got him?"  
>Simon nodded "yeah..."<br>Carla leaned over to give Bailey his dummy and smiled when Simon spoke "do you think he will like football?"  
>"I think he will if your dad has anything to do with it."<br>"I think I'm going to teach him."  
>Carla smiled "I think he would like that."<p>

-

In the living room of the pub, Peter had just closed the door on getting inside to talk to Leanne and sighed when he heard her first question. "Why is she trying to play mum to our son?"  
>"She isn't."<br>"She never will be."  
>"Leanne she isn't trying to be. She is trying to get on with him now what did you want to speak to me about?"<br>Leanne shook her head though she didn't push the subject any further "I just wondered if you wanted to have Simon tonight?"  
>Peter nodded "yeah of course I do. Why are you asking me though?"<br>Leanne shrugged "my mum needs a hand in the bar tonight and I said I would ask you if you wanted to have him so I could help her out."  
>"Have you got a bag for him?"<br>"No, I'll go and get one."  
>Peter nodded as Leanne left to go upstairs and then walked out into the bar area where Carla wa still sitting with Bailey and Simon. "How do you fancy staying with us tonight mate?"<br>"Am I allowed?"  
>Peter nodded "yeah, you're mum has just gone to get you some things now."<br>"Cool."  
>"Are you ready to go to the park once we have your things?"<br>Simon nodded and Carla leaned over to take Bailey once more before putting him back into the pushchair. "I think he likes your cuddles."  
>Simon smiled and turned to Peter who did too. "Did you get your football?"<br>"Oh no I need to get it. Wait for me."  
>Peter laughed a little "of course I will."<p>

-

When they arrived at the park, Carla and Peter had walked down by the river with Bailey and Simon for a little while before stopping when they came to an empty bench on the grass. Carla sat down and checked that Bailey was still settled as she set the pushchair in front of her. She was surprised when Simon took a seat beside her, though glad of it at the same time. She let a small smile pass her lips and it was shared by Peter. "Who wants ice cream then?" Peter questioned, getting his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans.  
>"me meeee" Simon called.<br>"Carla?"  
>Carla nodded her response and Peter ruffled Simon's hair before he walked over to the ice cream van that was on the other side of the grass. There was a couple of seconds pause as Carla adjusted what was on the bottom of Bailey's pram, but Simon spoke to her as she sat up. "Do you think Bailey likes the park?"<br>Carla nodded "yeah, but I think he will like it a little bit more when he's older."  
>"how much older?"<br>"When he can run around and play with you."  
>"Play football with me?"<br>Carla nodded "yeah"

Simon smiled and so did Carla, she hadn't expected the little conversation she'd had with Simon and she was glad that bailey seemed to be bringing the two of them closer. Simon sat and swung his legs on the bench as he waited for Peter to come back with the ice cream he had been promised. He decided in that moment that Carla couldn't be that bad; he knew that it was unlikely she would be going away anytime soon, like he had hoped in the beginning which, was why he was trying to get along with her. He loved the idea of having a little brother and he knew if it wasn't for Carla, Bailey wouldn't have been around, and that had been one of the major reasons for his change of heart. Peter arrived back with the ice creams and leaned over to pass one to Simon that was covered in sprinkles and one to Carla that had a flake. "Oh dad I wanted a flake."  
>"Here..." Carla took hers from the ice cream and offered it to Simon.<br>"No Carla, keep that. I'll go and get him one."  
>"How about we half it?" Simon offered, and Carla laughed a little before nodding her agreement.<br>Peter smiled at the difference in the relationship between Carla and Simon and he only hoped that it was on the up, they had waited long enough for him to come around to the idea of them being a couple that was for sure and it had been much longer than either of me had thought it would be.

After they had all eaten their ice creams, Peter picked up Simon's football that he had placed under Bailey's pushchair, throwing it up into the air and catching it again as he spoke. "How do you fancy a game of footie then mate?"  
>"Yeah" Simon grinned "but where's our goal?"<br>Peter took his jacket off and put it down onto the grass before taking a bag that held a few bits and pieces for Bailey, putting it down on the grass too, making sure there was a gap between that and his jacket. "Are you playing?" Simon questioned, and Carla shook her head. "I'm no good at football love."  
>"You can be on my team."<br>Peter walked over and on catching Simon's statement he raised his eyebrow a little. "Hey, I don't think that's fair."  
>"Don't listen to him."<br>"Well what about Bailey?"  
>Peter shook his head a little "Carla he's right there, you're not even a meter away from him, come on."<br>"So I'm not getting out of it then?"  
>Simon and Peter both shook their heads and Carla laughed before getting up, checking the grass was dry before kicking her boots off. Deciding it might be safer to play in her socks, rather than heels that some people might find it hard to walk in on even ground, let alone run around in on grass.<p>

It was only moments after taking her shoes off that Carla was running around on the grass with Simon and had just managed to fight the ball off Peter, she had passed it to Simon who had ran past Peter and kicked it into their goal. Carla cheered and laughed, giving him a high five as Simon held his hand up to her. "You're not rubbish."  
>Carla raised her eyebrow a little "no?"<br>Simon shook his head and then ran past Carla when Peter had retrieved the ball, he let him tackle it from him and after doing so, Simon called Carla before passing the ball to her, which she ran with while giving Peter a sideways nudge when he attempted to take it from her. "Go away" she laughed before kicking it into the goal. Simon cheered again and ran over to where Peter now stood beside Carla "dad you're getting beat off a girl."  
>"Hey don't rub it in you." he smiled.<br>Before Carla could answer Bailey began to cry and Carla walked over to the pushchair to take him out and hold him. She cuddled him close and shushed him, running her hand over his back gently. It was only a few seconds before Bailey settled once more. "Hey, that was a big yawn, Mr" Carla smiled, running her finger over his cheek gently.  
>Carla sat down with Bailey who soon began to drift back off and she smiled, crossing one leg over the other as Peter and Simon continued to play football. It was only moments after Carla had sat down her phone went off which caused her to frown. After taking her phone from her bag she opened the message and her heart sank when she opened it and found it was from Frank.<p>

_"We have things to discuss, meet me in the office at half seven."_

She deleted the message and wished that she could delete him just as easy, though she knew regardless of how hard she wished for that, it would be impossible. Carla swallowed hard and put her phone back into her bag, deciding against replying to the message. She sighed quietly and suddenly found a day that she had thought had started so well was now tainted. She ran her finger over Bailey's cheek once more and sighed quietly, hoping that she would get the news she wanted that night and not the piece of news that filled her with dread. Peter walked to the bench where Carla was sitting and smiled in her direction "is he alright?"  
>Carla nodded "he just woke up, that's all."<br>"Are you ready to go?"  
>Carla nodded "yeah..."<p>

-

At twenty past seven that evening Carla put her coat on and it caused Peter to frown. "Where are you going?"  
>"Oh I just need to go to the shop, we've ran out of milk..." she stated, it was a lame excuse and she knew it. Peter nodded in response and offered a smile before turning back to the TV where he was playing Wii with Simon. Once Carla had checked that Bailey was still settled she left the flat and reluctantly made her way towards the factory. She paid for the taxi and then found herself standing outside; she silently talked herself up to walking to the door and began taking slow and steady steps.<p>

It was the last place that she wanted to be but deep down she knew that she had little choice but to go there. She swallowed hard and pushed her hair back with her hand to try and stop the wind from whipping it up. When Carla placed her hand against the handle of the main doors of Underworld she found it was shaking and she shook her head at herself. She pushed the door open and let it close behind her, jumping in shock at the noise it made on closing. She took in a shaky breath and walked towards the office where she knew Frank would be. When Carla stepped inside Frank raised his eyebrow with a smirk and after lowering the glass of Whiskey from his lips onto the desk he was stood by, he spoke. "On time..."  
>"What do you want?"<br>"Would you like a drink?"  
>"No. I want to know what you asked me here for first." she stated coldly, folding her arms over her chest in a defensive manner.<br>"Alright, alright." Frank smirked and pulled out a white envelope from his pocket. "This got delivered this morning and I thought it was only right that you were told the results."  
>Carla noted that the envelope was open and she felt a strong feeling of nausea wash over her. He knew. He knew what the results were and he was either the best bluffer that she had ever come across in her life, or, that envelope held a piece of paper that would bring her whole world crashing down around her. "Give me it." Carla stated, holding her hand out for the envelope Frank held, willing it to stop shaking.<br>"Worried are we?" he smirked. "You have every right to be."  
>"Give me that envelope." she stated and let her hand fall to her side, almost in defeat.<br>"He's mine." Frank smirked and had a little more of his drink while Carla used every bit of strength left in her body to stop her emotions from getting the better of her. She swallowed back tears before shaking her head a little, her voice quiet but as even as she could manage, her words dripping hatred as she spoke. "There is no way that beautiful, perfect little boy could come from a monster like you." she spat.  
>"There's no need for you to talk to the father of your son like that. You should be doing all you can to keep me sweet Carla." He stated, before handing her the envelope.<br>Carla opened it slowly, almost not wanting to find out what was inside it but knowing that she needed to. On taking the piece of paper from it and opening it out the colour drained from her complexion as it dawned on her that Frank had been telling her the truth. She dropped the paper and as it fell to the floor, a single tear fell down her cheek. Frank smirked at her and knew in that moment that he had won. He knew he had and so did she. As he stepped closer to her, Carla flinched but found her legs rooted to the spot and unable to move.

"Make sure you're in work at 9 o clock sharp tomorrow, there's a good girl."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so much to the people who left comments on this, they really are appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave a comment if you have time. :-) Enjoy. :-)**

Part Thirteen.

The door to the factory closed and it was the noise of that which brought Carla back to her senses. She swallowed hard but now she was on her own she couldn't hold back the sobs that we're threatening to choke her, lodged in the back of her throat. She wiped her arm across her desk sending items flying across the room and onto the floor. She did the same to Frank's desk before her legs gave way from under her and she went crashing to the floor just like many other items had done only seconds before, due to her actions. So many things needed thinking about and at that moment in time it was just too much for her. She wondered about Bailey and about Peter, Michelle and Frank. Her life as she knew it was over now that he knew he was Bailey's dad and she had no idea what she was supposed to do from that moment on. Carla wondered how she was supposed to carry on and what she was supposed to do on stepping outside of the factory, she wanted as little contact with Frank as was possible but she knew that Bailey was a link they now had that she could never break. Regardless of how much she hated Frank.

Hayley had been for drinks with Sean, Julie, Eileen and Fiz and after leaving The Rovers being the only one that was sober she had intended to go home when she found that Frank had just walked out of Underworld and had made no effort to lock the door. She suddenly found herself worried for Carla after what she had thought she had witnessed only a couple of days earlier and after waiting for Frank to drive away she made sure her friends had gone into their homes before making her way to her workplace. Hayley pushed the door open and frowned when she found the place in darkness. She stepped in a little further though and it was then she noticed the glow of light coming from the office. Hayley let the door close behind her and carefully made her way over to where the light was coming from. When she pushed the door open she wasn't ready for what she found and there were a few seconds in which she was sure she could have been knocked down by a feather. The office had thing strewn all over the floor and in the corner by all the chaos was Carla, her knees were pulled tightly into her chest and she was quietly sobbing.

There was a couple of moments when Hayley didn't know what she was supposed to do but she soon pulled herself together and carefully moved over to where Carla was on the floor and knelt down to her height. She reached out and gently touched her shoulder but was shocked when Carla flinched back, her head snapped up and the panic that washed over her expression for a moment even left Hayley speechless. "Carla..." she whispered "what's wrong? What's happened?"  
>Carla opened her mouth to speak but couldn't get any words out, a pained cry escaped her lips and Hayley moved her arm to place around Carla's shoulders. She fell sideways into the embrace and cried, cried for what she had found out, for wondering what would happen from then on, for what she had gone through at the hands of Frank and the prospect of having to keep Frank sweet to keep the truth from Peter.<p>

It was around twenty minutes later and Hayley had managed to get Carla to sit down on a chair and had poured her a drink from the bottle of Whiskey that was kept in the office. She poured some into a glass and handed it to Carla before sitting down herself. "What's happened?"  
>Carla pushed her hair back gently with her hand and had a large mouthful of the drink she had been poured before shaking her head. "I can't..."<br>Hayley noted the way Carla's hands shook violently as she raised the glass of Whiskey to her lips and she felt sick with worry for the woman who had started off as her boss, but was now someone whom she considered a friend. "You can, Carla you can tell me anything I want to help... It won't go any further than these four walls..."  
>Carla swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment, she knew she needed to tell someone about what had happened before she went mad, but the one person she wanted to tell was the one person she couldn't tell in fear of what his reaction would be.<br>"Is it something to do with Frank? I know he grabbed you the other day..."  
>"That isn't even the half of it." Carla stated bitterly, shaking her head seconds before having another large gulp of the brown liquid from the glass she held.<br>After a moment, Hayley placed her hand over Carla's and leant forward a little. "Carla, tell me what he's done?"  
>There was a few moments pause, and though she wanted to, Hayley decided against pushing her any further. She knew Carla well enough to know that if she pushed her too far she would just shut-down altogether and that was the last thing she wanted. Whatever it was that was upsetting her, she knew that it wasn't something someone should be dealing with on their own, and her thoughts were confirmed when Carla next spoke. "He raped me..." she whispered, though it was so quiet she doubted whether the words had even left her lips.<br>To Hayley however, it was like she had screamed the words at her and she squeezed her hand a little tighter, it being a couple of seconds before she managed to reply, wondering how the woman that sat in front of her had managed to keep such a secret. "When?" she whispered.  
>"Ten months ago..."<br>"Ten?" Hayley repeated, and Carla knew that she was thinking what had been confirmed that night. "What about Bailey?" Hayley mumbled, unsure whether she should have even approached the subject. She was met with just a sob from Carla and knew it that second who Bailey's biological father was. She knew that no actions or words from her could go anywhere near to consoling Carla, but she knew she had to try. Hayley pulled the woman who she had grown to regard as a friend into another cuddle and she was glad when she accepted it. After a couple of moments Carla sat back once more and ran the back of her hand over her cheeks as Hayley spoke. "What are you going to do?"  
>Carla shook her head "I don't know. What am I supposed to do?"<br>"I wish I could tell you."  
>"I can't tell him, you won't tell him will you?"<br>Hayley shook her head "of course I won't. You don't even need to ask, Carla..."  
>"I don't know what to do..."<br>"I think that you need to think about it first. I guess that's why he was in here?" Carla nodded her response before Hayley continued "I think you need to try and rest and then try and make a decision. I know it's a cliché but wait until in the morning before you decide anything for sure."  
>"What if I can't love him anymore?"<p>

Hayley frowned "Bailey?"

Carla nodded.  
>"Carla, regardless of what that animal did to you, Bailey is still your son."<br>"But..."  
>Hayley cut her off before she could finish. "There is no but, he is <em>your<em> son. He isn't Frank Carla; he is nothing to do with him. He is a beautiful baby boy who relies on you to take care of him and I know you are just having a panic now. You couldn't not love him and I know things are hard for you right now but don't let him ruin your relationship with Bailey, he isn't worth it."  
>Carla nodded in acknowledgement to what she had said before speaking up in a whisper, though it wasn't in answer to her words of comfort. "I feel sick..."<br>Hayley sighed sympathetically and moved to rub Carla's back gently as she leaned against the desk a little but before she could answer what Carla had said, her phone rang. Carla jumped and turned to the side quickly before taking her phone from her bag. "It's Peter..." she stated, though Hayley didn't say anything, she knew what Carla had said didn't require an answer. Carla sniffed and sat back slightly, swallowing hard before she answered the phone. "Hey you..."  
>"Hey baby, where are you?"<br>"In the factory..."  
>"I thought you were going to the shop?"<br>"I was but I just remembered that I... That I needed to arrange meeting for next week."  
>"Could it have not waited until tomorrow? You've been gone ages..."<br>"Unfortunately not."  
>"Do you know how much longer you are going to be?"<br>"I think I will go and get a taxi now."  
>"Good, we've saved you some take-away..."<br>Carla felt her stomach churn at the mere thought of eating anything though she did her best to disguise it. "Thank you."  
>"I'm going to go and put Simon to bed so leave your work for today and come home alright?"<br>Carla could almost hear his smile in his tone "alright, I shouldn't be too much longer..."  
>"I love you."<br>"I love you too."  
>Carla ended the call and put her phone down, sighing once more before she got out of the chair and picked up her bag. Turning slightly when she heard Hayley speak, concern dripping from every word that passed her lips. "Are you sure you're alright to go back home, Carla?"<br>"What choice do I have? Seems like the running theme for my life over the past few months that, doesn't it?" she laughed bitterly and shook her head.  
>"Please don't say that."<br>"It's true."  
>"I think he would stand by you Carla, maybe you should tell him."<br>"you think" she sighed "I can't take the chance."  
>"Maybe you need to..."<br>"I can't... I just, I can't."  
>"If you ever need to talk again please come and get me, don't let yourself get this upset again. You're not on your own, you know?"<br>Carla said nothing, fearing that if she did she would break down into tears once more. She nodded her acknowledgement to what Hayley had said and reached out her hand to give Hayley's a gentle squeeze. She hesitated for a second before she spoke up once again "will you..." she didn't even need to finish the sentence before Hayley nodded "go on, go." Carla turned on her heel and left the factory; she folded her arms over her chest defensively on getting outside and headed in the direction of the cab office.

Inside the factory, Hayley sighed quietly and silently hoped that what she had said to Carla had helped, though with the situation she was in she was unsure any amount of comforting from her would help. Hayley began clearing up the office, picking up what had been knocked off the two desks, putting it back as best she could in the hope that no one would notice that it had moved, she knew that would only make Carla feel even worse if people found out that she had lost control. Hayley had always known that Carla was strong but in that moment she understood just how much. She wouldn't say it to Carla of course but she was surprised that it had taken until then for her to let things get on top of her. Hayley was sure that most people wouldn't have been able to handle things as she had, especially with Frank doing what he could to make things even harder for her.

As she was picking things up from the floor she came across the piece of paper which stated Carla's fears in black and white. She put it into her bag and decided to keep it and ask Carla what she wanted to do with it the following day, rather than leaving it there and risk letting it get into the wrong hands. Or more specifically, Frank's. After tidying the office Hayley locked up Underworld before going back to the Cafe, silently worrying about her friend.

-

When Carla arrived outside of the flat she took a deep breath before slipping the key into the lock, hoping she wouldn't have to front things out for too long. Once Carla had pushed the door open she stepped inside and forced a small smile in Peter direction as he turned around from his place on the couch. "Hey baby."  
>"hey, how are you?" she questioned, letting the door close behind her before she turned around to put the lock on.<br>"I've missed you." Peter smiled.  
>"Was I really gone that long?"<br>Peter smiled and shook his head as he spoke "no, but it was long enough." He wrapped his arms around Carla on getting close enough and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Carla rested gently against his chest and as she breathed in his familiar scent and felt the softness of his touch she felt an urge to cry that she could not hold back. She sniffed and brought the back of her hand to wipe over her cheek, though she was too late, Peter had moved her back with a hand against either one of her shoulders. "What's wrong sweetheart?" he whispered, concern etched into his tone as he spoke.  
>"I..." Carla shook her head a little and swallowed hard as she struggled to get her words out.<br>Peter shook his own head a little and pulled her close, wrapping her up in his arms. "Hey, don't get upset. You're probably just tired; you've had a rough couple of months. How about we go to bed and get you some much needed rest, hey?"  
>Carla nodded against his chest and Peter leaned over to turn the light off, before placing his arm around her, guiding her into the bedroom. He nudged the door closed with his foot as Carla undressed and put on her nighty, leaving her clothes in a crumpled pile by the bed. She took her make-up off and climbed underneath the covers, allowing Peter to pull her close as she curled into his side.<p>

Peter ran his hand over her hair gently as she laid beside him and kissed the top of her head, hoping that there wasn't more to her getting upset than she was saying and though there was a niggling feeling in his stomach he decided to ignore it, not wanting to think that Carla was lying to him. He gave her a gentle squeeze and listened to her steady breaths as she lay beside him. Carla sighed quietly and let her hand rest palm flat against his chest gently as she drifted into a restless slumber beside the man that she loved.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you to madaboutcarla & WithoutAWord for the replies, I really appreciate them. WithoutAWord, your comment made me laugh, I thought about the whole good minds saying too, lol. I hope you all are still enjoying this and that these chapters aren't coming too quickly. Please leave a comment if you have time. :-) Enjoy. :-)**

Part Fourteen.

The following morning, Carla had got up early and got into the shower, thinking as the warm water washed over her. She knew she had to do what Frank had told her that day regardless of desperately not wanting to. There was so much at stake and the one thing she didn't want to do was to lose over what had happened, was Peter. She had tried to ignore the situation and to a point was still trying to do so even at that moment in time, every time a thought of Frank had popped into her mind she tried to push it away as fast as she could.

Carla stepped out of the shower with a sigh and after changing into a pair of black leggings and a loose white t-shirt, she dried her hair. Carla was about to start putting her make-up on when Bailey began to cry. She moved over to where he was laid and picked him up quickly to prevent waking Peter. Carla held him close to her chest as she walked out into the kitchen to get him a bottle and let a small smile pass her lips as Bailey fell quiet on being in her arms.

As Carla made up a bottle for him she knew that what Hayley had said the previous night was true. Bailey might be Frank's biologically but nothing more and she intended to do what she could to make sure that he had nothing to do with her son's life. She tested the milk on the back of her hand before she began feeding Bailey and moved to lean against the kitchen top as she did so, letting a quiet sigh pass her lips. When Simon descended the stairs sleepily, Carla stepped out from where she had been. "Morning..."  
>"Hi Carla, where's my dad?"<br>"He's still in bed love, do you want some breakfast?"  
>Simon nodded "yes please."<br>"Toast?"  
>"With Nutella and banana's?"<br>Carla gave a small smile and nodded as Simon ran over and jumped onto her couch. He had been fiddling with the buttons on the remote for the TV for a couple of moments when he turned around no spoke in her direction. "Can you put this on for me please?"  
>"Course, what do you want on, the cartoons?"<br>He nodded his response.  
>Carla put Bailey's bottle on the side when he'd had enough before sitting down beside Simon, taking the remote with her spare hand to turn the TV over, as Simon leaned over to speak to Bailey, causing Carla to smile. When she got the beginning of the channels she showed him how to change them. "Here, just press this to go up and down and you can decide what you have on, alright?"<br>"Thanks Carla."  
>"You're welcome."<p>

Carla stood up to go back into the kitchen when Peter walked out of the bedroom, running his hand over his hair as he yawned. "Morning gorgeous." he smiled over at Carla before kissing her.  
>"Morning sleepy."<br>"How are my boys."  
>"One's fed, one's still hungry." she told him, while putting two slices of bread into the toaster.<br>"Here, give Bailey while you do that."  
>Carla carefully passed Bailey to him and her heart melted at how gentle Peter was with him, he held him like he was the most precious thing in the world and it only made the situation that she was in all the more difficult. However, she was pulled from her thoughts when Peter spoke up once more. "Y'alright Si?"<br>Simon turned from where he had been sitting and nodded "yeah, Carla's making me toast."  
>"You're ready early." Peter frowned, turning to Carla as she made Simon breakfast.<br>"I know I'm going into work."  
>"Really?"<br>Carla nodded "yeah, I think I need to. I need to sort out some things. Can you have him this morning after you've taken Simon to school and I will try and meet you at dinner time?"  
>Peter nodded "alright, don't work too hard..."<br>Carla smiled and kissed him once more before leaning over to pass Simon his breakfast. After doing so she left Peter sat with Simon and Bailey as she went back into the bedroom to finish of getting ready. Carla put on a loose cream cardigan after finishing off her make-up and finished off the outfit with black boots before stepping into the living room to put on her scarf and pick up her bag. "Text me a little later on." Carla kissed Peter on the cheek after speaking and then kissed Bailey on the forehead before ruffling Simon's hair. Once she had done so, she left the house to calls of Peter and Simon shouting bye to her.

On getting outside, Carla leaned against the wall a little and bit down on the inside of her mouth as she took a shaky breath. She knew that despite wanting to lock herself away in her flat with Peter she had to at least try and get on with things and keep her life as normal as possible, despite it being far from how she felt. Carla drove to the factory and pulled to a stop outside it, after getting out of the car and locking it she walked to the factory doors. After getting the keys from her bag she opened the doors as she heard a car door close and then Frank's voice, which made her blood run cold. "Oh, decided to come in today, have you?" it was said in a friendly manner but she knew that underneath he was gloating that she had done what he'd told her to. Carla decided against responding to what he had said and instead walked through the factory and into the office, dropping her bag down before going to make a coffee. When Hayley entered the factory Carla put her arm out to stop her from walking past and instead got her to stand beside her. "You cleaned up last night... Thank you..."  
>"You're welcome. How are you feeling?" she questioned, subtly placing her hand over her's to give it a gentle squeeze.<br>"I don't think I could say. I feel like a mess..."  
>"How were you last night?"<br>"Not good. But what you said about Bailey, it's true."  
>Hayley gave a small smile and began making a cup of coffee for both herself and Carla. "I've got something I think you would be better off having..."<br>Carla frowned "what is it?"  
>Before Hayley could answer, Frank walked over to the small kitchen area that was in the factory, where the girls and Sean usually spent their coffee breaks. "Make me a coffee would you Hayley?" he smiled, though he was met with just a simple nod from the older woman, a far cry for the the chirpy reply he would usually have received.<p>

Carla picked up her drink before walking into the factory office, wanting to be as far away from Frank as possible, which was easier said than done with them both working together. She put it down on her desk and turned on the computer to catch up on work that she had missed since being off. It was mere moments before Frank walked back through into the office with a cup of coffee and spoke to her the moment the door had closed. "You and me need to talk."  
>"No we don't."<br>"Don't start Carla. I think I was more than fair giving you last night to get used to things. I want access to my son."  
>"You're having nothing to do with him."<br>"I think you'll find I have everything to do with him."  
>"No you don't. I don't care what that paper says, Peter is his dad." Carla snapped, her voice getting louder as she to the end of her sentence.<br>Frank stepped towards her desk but didn't get chance to say anything as Sean knocked on the door and opened it. "Mrs Connor, my machine's playing up; can you come and sort it out for me?"  
>Carla nodded and got up, but before she stepped past him to walk out of the door he held her arm tightly. "This conversation isn't over."<br>"I think you'll find it is." she pulled her arm from his grip roughly and walked out onto the factory floor over to where Sean's machine was. "What's wrong with it?"  
>"It's alright, Julie has sorted it out, there was just something stuck."<br>"Oh right."  
>Sean carried on with his work and Carla turned around when she heard Hayley speak. "Can I have a word, Mrs Connor?"<br>"Yeah, course..." she moved over to one side with her and frowned at the piece of paper that she was handed. "What's this?"  
>"The paternity test... It was on the floor last night."<br>"Oh... Thanks." she gave a small smile before folding it, putting it into her pocket. "Will you make sure that order is checked before it gets sent off?" Hayley nodded and Carla smiled in thanks once again before going back into the office as Frank walked out.

"What did she want?" Beth questioned when Carla walked away.  
>"Just checking things were on track."<br>"I'm surprised she's even back."  
>"Why'd you say that?"<br>"I thought she'd have been milking her time off for all she could get."  
>"I must admit, I didn't think she would be back this soon." Fiz added, and Hayley sighed. "Well its Mrs Connor's business isn't it, now come on, let's get this offer finished." she encouraged, hoping the subject would be dropped sooner rather than later.<p>

When Carla got back into the office she waited until the door had closed before going over to the shredder. She put piece of paper that Hayley had given her into it and let it be cut into a thousand pieces. She sighed when the noise stopped, indicating that it had been destroyed and she wished that it would be as easy as that to get rid of the consequences from her life that that little bit of paper had caused.

-

It was later that evening and Carla and Peter had just arrived at Ken and Deidre's. Peter had texted her earlier in the day to let her know that he had accepted the invite to go around for their tea and to spend some time together. It wasn't something that Carla had wanted to do but she found herself with little choice, she had no real reason to decline so had found herself agreeing to go, for him. Peter had driven to his dad's and after getting out of the car he wrapped his arm around Carla who had hold of the car seat that Bailey was in. "We won't stay late love."  
>"Good, I'm quite tired after going back to work."<br>"You're not going back to full time yet are you?" Peter questioned, before raising his arm to knock at the door.  
>Carla shook her head "no, we're just busy." she lied. "I don't really want to go back for another couple of months yet and even then we'll have to talk about hours and stuff so there's someone for Bailey."<br>"We're not short of babysitter's though, Car."  
>She laughed quietly and nodded "I know. But, I don't think it'd be very responsible of me to leave him with Julie and Sean, do you?"<br>"Well maybe not those two." Peter chuckled.

Ken opened the door and offered a smile to both Carla and Peter "hello Peter, Carla." he nodded in acknowledgement before stepping to one side. "Come in." Carla stepped past him with Peter following behind her and walked into the living room. She was taken aback to find that Michelle and Frank were there, as well as Leanne and Simon. She swallowed hard and forced a small smile as she put the car seat with Bailey in down on the couch while taking her coat off. "Are Tracy and Amy not here?" Carla questioned in Deidre's direction, knowing that they usually would be.  
>"No love, Amy's with Steve and Tracy went to town this afternoon and hasn't been back since."<br>Carla laughed a little and nodded "oh right."  
>"Is he awake?" Deirdre questioned, nodding in gesture towards Bailey.<br>Carla nodded "just, yeah."  
>"Can I have a cuddle with him?"<br>Carla nodded with a small smile and took him from the seat before carefully passing him over to Deirdre. "Can I just go warm a bottle up for him?"  
>"Of course you can love." she smiled and Carla walked over to the sofa, putting Bailey's chair to one side on the floor before getting a bottle from his bag to go and warm up in the kitchen. As she was stood waiting for it to warm up she heard Peter say hello to everyone and noted the underlying tone in Leanne's voice that let her know she was uncomfortable to be there. Things between Carla and Leanne weren't much better than they had been initially after her and Peter had split and with Frank being there it was bad enough, let alone with her being there too. Carla knew that both Ken and Deirdre thought Leanne was still the best thing since sliced bread, and she did think things only felt better between them now due to her having Bailey. However, she was just relieved things had improved.<p>

After warming the bottle she tested it on the back of her hand to check that it wasn't too warm before walking into the living room where everyone seemed to be in conversation, it being what Ken said that caught her attention first. "Do you want to stay for something to eat Leanne?"  
>"Yeah, stay mum." Simon grinned "can we please?"<br>Leanne shook her head "I've got to go to work love, but you can stay for an hour or so if you want to?"  
>Simon nodded before hugging her tightly "thank you" he bounded over to Ken. "Can we play Guess Who granddad?"<br>Ken laughed and nodded "yeah, go and get it then."  
>Deirdre turned to Carla as she reached the table "here, I'll give him that. You sit and have a break."<br>Carla handed the bottle over to her and ran her hand over Bailey's head gently before going to sit down between Peter and Michelle as Ken showed Leanne out. "Where were you today?" Carla questioned, turning in Michelle's direction, trying to ignore Frank talking to Peter at the side of her.  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"Work?"  
>"I was out shopping for my wedding." she raised her eyebrow a little "don't tell me you're back already?"<br>Carla shook her head "not full time, no, but I was in today."  
>"Well next time you're coming shopping with me."<br>"Bailey is only a month old; I don't think he could cope with one of your marathon shopping trips just yet."  
>"You can talk, I learnt it from you."<br>Carla laughed "oh yeah blame me why don't you."  
>Michelle shrugged "why not."<br>Carla nudged her playfully with a smile and shook her head a little.

-

After eating a meal that Deirdre had cooked, Carla was sitting on the couch with Bailey in her arms and Michelle next to her talking to him. Ken was talking to Frank and Peter, and Deirdre had begun playing Guess Who with Simon, a game that seemed to keep him entertained for hours on end. Carla leaned back against the couch and yawned at the same time as Bailey did, causing Michelle to laugh. "You're in sync already."  
>Carla laughed, shaking her head a little "I don't know what he's so tired for, he just gets cuddled all day."<br>"He's gorgeous; he's just asking to be cuddled."  
>"That's true."<br>"How are things between you and Peter?"  
>Carla nodded "yeah good I think, we're quite tired, getting him into a routine and everything but I suppose that was just to be expected."<br>Michelle nodded "yeah, course it is. Remember when I had Ryan and all the trouble we had getting him into a routine?"  
>Carla laughed and nodded "yeah, he was a night baby."<br>"He is still like it now, stays up all night and stays in bed all day."  
>"I remember Paul and Liam used to get up like bears with a sore head and whine about him keeping them up."<br>"I seem to remember you whining too."  
>"Only when I had a hangover or something, I wasn't as bad as those two."<br>"I think that is a matter of opinion."  
>Carla raised her eyebrow "how?"<br>"You threatened to put something into his bottle."  
>"No I did not. That was Paul, he said he'd give him some calpol and you're mum just decided to blame me."<br>"Yeah yeah."  
>"I'm telling you, it was."<br>Carla turned to Michelle with a smirk and Michelle mirrored it before they both laughed and Carla shook her head. "Let's just agree to disagree on that one."  
>Michelle nodded and answered with a laugh "yeah."<p>

Carla was about to speak again when Frank's phone rang and she turned around on instinct, though turned her back on him almost as quickly. The noise in the room haven fallen considerably as Frank answered. "Hi mum." Michelle chuckled and though Carla tried, she found it impossible to ignore him. There was a small pause before he got up and walked into the hall to finish the conversation, causing almost everyone in the room to frown at his haste. Carla sighed quietly and ran her hand over Bailey's back in a soothing manner, it being only moments before Frank returned. "Is everything alright, Frank?" Ken questioned, concern etched all over his features and Carla couldn't help but feel he didn't deserve it, despite not knowing what had happened.  
>Frank shook his head as he sat back down in the chair he'd only got up from moments before. "no, no it isn't."<br>"What's happened? Is everything alright with your mum?"  
>"It's my dad; he has to go into hospital. I need to go out there."<p> 


End file.
